Karen Louise Douell

Karen Louise Douell, age 70, of Elgin, passed away Thursday, May 25, 2023 at her home surrounded by her loving family.

She was born September 12, 1952, in Davenport, Iowa, the daughter of Jesse and Clara (Erickson) Hand.

Karen loved her four children, nine grandchildren, and her little dog Dobby, proudly bearing the title of Crazy Nana. Children and pets in general seemed to be drawn to her, despite the faint smell of cigarettes that we could never quite get her to stop using. Despite her vices, Karen enjoyed a mostly healthy life. She loved sunny days at the pool and trips with her family, especially beach vacations. She was an excellent cook, but a terrible recipe writer...most of the recipes we have managed to extract from her include phrases like “medium slab of beef” or “until it looks right”. She will be deeply missed.

Karen is survived her daughters Sarah (Matthew) Beu of St. Charles, Cassie (Alex) Stoller of Ohio, and Kalie Gould of Eureka; grandchildren Isabelle, Collin, Owen, Caitlyn, Gavin, Ian, Claire, Sophie, and Kippa; sister Sharon Orstead; and many other dear relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by her loving husband Ike; son Taylor; brothers Michael, Steve, Larry; and parents.

Visitation for Karen will be held on Thursday, June 8, 2023 from 5:00pm until the time of her memorial service at 7:00pm at Malone Funeral Home, 324 E. State Street (Route 38), Geneva.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or Anderson Animal Shelter.

Information 630-232-8233 or visit malonefh.com.

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