Karen Beth Janda

July 13, 1957 - January 28, 2018

Karen Beth Eich was born on July 13, 1957 in Hebron, Nebraska to Keith and Mary Huber Eich of Strang. It was hot, of course, and Keith was still harvesting wheat. He said to Mary, “Can you wait until noon?” and Mary said, “No.” So Karen was born at 10:10 am and even beat Doc Lynn to the hospital. Gail and Janene were proud big sisters. When Mary and the girls went to town, Gail held Karen on a pillow and Janene held the blanket so the sun would not get in her eyes. The girls grew up going to Strang School. When Karen started to Kindergarten, she rode to town on the back of Gail’s bike. Gail and Janene would pick up the Bumgarner kids and it was quite the site, all those bikes going up the hill to school. Karen graduated from eighth grade in 1971 in Strang with classmate LuAnn Steider. Their friendship continued for years. She graduated from Geneva High School in 1975. She was involved in many activities, volleyball, cheerleading, and music, both band and vocal, were her favorites. She attended Mt. Marty College in Yankton, SD and graduated from Northeast Nebraska Technical Community College in Norfolk with an Associate of Arts degree. As a child, she loved nothing more than playing dress up with friend LuAnn and cousin Carol Hinrichs. They played wedding and princess and made little floats for the New Year’s parades. Karen was married to Steve Allgood on May 21, 1977. They moved to the family farm where Steve continued to farm with Karen’s dad. Two children were born to this union, Eric and Aaron. As a family, they loved to go to Karen’s brother-in-law Frank Chapman’s football and basketball games in Deshler and Hampton. She cherished the life-long friendships she made with these people. Steve and Karen also enjoyed harvesting together after Karen’s dad passed away in 1989. Karen drove the combine (which she took great pride in) while Steve drove the grain cart. After school, the kids would ride along -- Eric with his dad and Aaron with his mom. They were divorced on Sept. 30, 1997. Karen was married to Harold Janda on May 23, 2003 and they lived on Harold’s farm south of Friend, NE. Two step-sons and wives were added to Karen’s life. Together, Harold and Karen sang in the church choir at the UCC church in Geneva. They also loved to ballroom dance and work on projects on the farm. They enjoyed traveling in recent years, checking off of Karen’s bucket list of seeing New England in the fall. Karen was delighted to add another daughter-in-law to the family when Eric married Angela Dresch on June 9, 2009. Karen’s creativity blossomed as a young girl. She loved creating! When the family would go shopping in Hastings, her mom always made sure they would sneak away to Dick’s Hobby and Crafts Store so she could buy a new kit to make new projects. Her creative dreams came true when she was hired by Elaine Westring in 1981 to help her in the design department. She learned about putting silk flowers together, which has always been her first love. Karen worked for Elaine and Jim Westring for 12 years until they closed their store. In 1997 Karen opened her own store on Main Street in Geneva called Silks and Such. In 1998, Janet Bartak asked her to come to work with her at Geneva Floral. Karen was able to learn the fresh floral business from Janet. In 2005, she bought the business from Janet and moved back to Main Street. Her tiny shop flourished and in 2010 Harold and Karen opened a second store called A Little Inspiration filled with home decor and gifts. Karen was a Christmas girl. Her home and farm were decorated with classic, traditional decor to accent their craftsman-style house. No corner was left without a little sparkle. It never bothered her to vacuum up a little glitter in the summer. She just smiled and knew Christmas was coming. She was a perfectionist at decorating, having been known to take all the decorations off her tree and start over. The year the Christmas tree was under the cross in the front of the church, there was an ornament that was out of place. After church, she put her robe away and went back up and put the ornament in the right place. When she turned around there was Ronnie Tatro standing in the middle of the aisle saying, “you just can’t leave it alone, can you?!” Her extended family was important to her. The Eich holiday was Thanksmas, obviously derived from the combination of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Thanksmas at the Janda farm meant beautifully set tables, one in fall decor and the other in Christmas. The day together couldn’t end without a spirited round of Pictionary, which got very loud and competitive. Time spent with her grandchildren was always special. She was thrilled in July of 2017 that the whole family could be together in Colorado so she could take the grandkids to the North Pole for her 60th birthday! It was a wonderful time! Karen was a member and past president of Chapter O PEO of Geneva. She was a lifelong member of the First Congregational United Church of Christ, having been baptized and confirmed there. She was a lifelong member of the Senior choir and Bell choir. Karen was preceded in death by her parents and brother-in-law Dan Collins. She is survived by husband Harold Janda of Friend; son Eric Allgood and wife Angela of Henderson (Jackson and Jacy); son Aaron Allgood of Lincoln; stepson Paul Janda and wife Denee of Boulder, CO; stepson Adam Janda and wife Ellie of Goehner (Emaline, Gwendalyn, Agatha, and Harrison); sister Gail Chapman and husband Frank of York; sister Janene Collins of St. Joseph, MO; nephew Tony Chapman and wife Kerry of Grand Island (Addison, Olivia, and Ella); nephew Tyler Chapman and wife Latisha of Wichita, KS (Londyn, Sydney, and Liberty); nephew Derrick and wife Christy of Richmond, VA (River and August); and niece Adrienne Collins of Kansas City, MO. A Funeral Service for Karen was held on Thursday, February 1, 2018 at 10:30 a.m. at the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Geneva. Pastor Stuart Davis officiated the service. Nancy Cradduck provided the prelude and postlude music. Adrienne Collins performed “What A Wonderful World” and “Over The Rainbow” and the Senior Church Choir performed “Eternal Praise.” The recorded selections “A Life That’s Good” and “Satin Doll” were also played. Pallbearers for the service included Tony Chapman, Tyler Chapman, Mike Homyak, Tom Clouse, Rex Hinrichs, and Larry Messman. Honorary bearers included Max Hinrichs, Vaughn Hinrichs, Gary Hinrichs, Leroy Voss, Jeff Joe, Derrick Collins, and Sheldon Kohout. Interment was held in the Geneva Public Cemetery following the Funeral Service. Farmer & Son Funeral Home conducted the services and online condolences can be left at www.farmerandsonfuneralhome.com Memorials are suggested to the First Congregational United Church Of Christ or Pediatric Oncology.