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Service:
A Celebration of Karen’s Life will be held at
Westfair Baptist Church, 1815 Lafayette Ave.,
Jacksonville, on Saturday, August 17, from 1:00 to
3:00 p.m.
Funeral home:Quiram-Peasley Funeral Home, Atlanta
Obituary
Karen S. Turner, 78, of Lincoln,
passed away at The Loft of Normal on Wednesday, July
24, 2024.
Private family services and burial were held at New
Union Cemetery in Lincoln. A Celebration of Karen’s
Life will be held at Westfair Baptist Church, 1815
Lafayette Ave., Jacksonville, on Saturday, August
17, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
Karen Sue Smith was born July 9, 1946, in
Jacksonville, IL, the daughter of Ernest M. and
Edith Breakville Smith. She was united in marriage
to Olan R. Turner on August 10, 1968.
Karen is survived by her children: T.J. Turner,
Traci (Dwayne) Keiffer, and Olan R. Turner, Jr.; two
grandchildren: Kimberly and Jason Keiffer.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her
husband, Olan; her sister, Debra Smith Glaenzer; her
brother, Michael T. Smith, and a brother who died in
infancy, Danny Boyd Smith.
Karen graduated from Jacksonville High School in
1964 and worked at the book bindery in Jacksonville
for two years before attending Baptist Bible College
in Springfield, MO, where she met her husband, Olan.
Together, they ministered in churches in Indiana,
Kentucky, and Illinois, and founded Bible Baptist
Church (now Grace Baptist Church) in Havana, IL. She
briefly worked as a Nurse’s Aide and intermittently
as a teacher’s assistant and office custodian. Karen
and Olan were longtime carriers for the Lincoln
Courier and The Pantagraph. |
Her greatest joys were being a
homemaker and educating children. She organized and
led Vacation Bible School and taught Sunday School
and junior church. Many, many children benefited
from the hours she spent drilling spelling words and
multiplication tables. An incredibly creative soul,
she enjoyed sewing, designing costumes and crafts of
all kinds, and baking beautiful, delicious desserts.
She was a master at creative writing and dramatic
storytelling and always had a quick wit.
Karen was the epitome of the virtuous woman
described in Proverbs 31. She “looked well to the
ways of her household,” and her children “rise up to
call her blessed.” She was a prayer warrior, with so
many “standing in victory unawares” from her lifting
their hurts and needs before the throne of God. She
was a humble, faithful servant of God to the very
end, making sure that “He must increase” even if she
decreased, John 3:30. Well done, Karen!
In lieu of flowers, donors can honor Karen by
sending a gift to St. Jude Children’s Research
Hospital or by cheerfully baking a batch of cookies
for their church’s Vacation Bible School or
neighborhood children.
Peasley Funeral Home of Lincoln is handling the
arrangements.
Click here to send a note of condolence to the
family of Karen S. Turner |
