Kari Smith Gray grew up on a farm in Warden, Washington.  She loved her time at Ricks College and BYU where she earned her BS in Elementary Education.  She married Mike Gray in 1986 and has been a widow for nearly 12 years.  The biggest joy in her life is being a mom to 6 kids and grandma to 14.  She enjoys reading, baking cookies, volunteering, traveling, and playing games.  One thing Kari’s friends don’t know about her is that she likes to pretend she’s a mermaid when she swims.  Kari has been a paraplegic for 39 years.  She lived in Alaska for 21 years before moving to Boise 11 years ago.