Karen Joyce (Eernisse) Havran

TOLEDO-Karen Joyce (Eernisse) Havran, 82, of Toledo, passed away Monday, June 7, 2021 at UnityPoint-Allen Memorial Hospital in Waterloo. Funeral Services will be held Saturday, June 12, 2021 at 11:00 AM at Christ United Methodist Church in Toledo with Pastor Jill Mack officiating. Interment will follow at the Woodlawn Cemetery in Toledo. Visitation will be held Saturday, June 12, 2021 from 10-11 AM prior to the service at the church. Please feel free to leave condolences to the family at www.kruse-phillips.com

Karen was born on April 5, 1939, in Toledo, Iowa, the daughter of Harold Clifford and Ruth Cordelia (Cuthbertson) Eernisse.

She graduated from Toledo High School in 1956.

On April 4, 1961, she was united in marriage to Donald Lee Havran at the Little Brown Church in the Vale, in Nashua, Iowa. Prior to Don enlisting in the U.S. Air Force, they lived in Garwin, Iowa. In 1962, Karen’s brother Gerald helped her move to Texas while Don was undergoing his Air Force training. Throughout Don’s service, they lived in Texas, Illinois, North Dakota and Italy. Following Don’s Air Force service, they returned to Tama County and took up residence in rural Toledo. It was here where they started their family. Music was always important to Karen and she passed that love to her kids. She taught each of them how to play the trombone and supported their many activities through the years. Karen was also a voracious reader, chronicling a lot of her reading on lists. During the 1980’s, she started selling Avon and became a District Manager-the kids remember this, as she won the family’s first VCR. She worked various bookkeeping jobs over the years and later went to work for the Tama County Auditor’s Office and worked there until she retired. In the spring of 1991, Karen and Don moved into Toledo to help take care of Karen’s parents.

Through the years, Karen was a member of Christ United Methodist Church in Toledo where she was active in United Methodist Women, General Federation of Women’s Clubs, the Jaycees, and Daughters of the American Revolution. She was active at the Toledo American Legion for many of their activities.

Survivors include her husband of sixty years, Don of Toledo; three children, Christopher Wayne (Jillian) Havran of Waukee, Michelle Lyn (Jeff) Hilsabeck of West Des Moines, and Craig Alan (Jessica) Havran of Elkhorn, NE; five grandchildren, Connor Havran, Cason Hilsabeck, Alaina, Logan, and Stella Havran; sister-in-law, Marlene Eernisse of Toledo; brother and sister-in-law, Gary and Carol Havran of Ham Lake, MN; and many nieces and nephews.

Preceding her in death were her parents; one son, Douglas Lee Havran in infancy; and one brother, Gerald Eernisse.

A memorial fund will be established.

Kruse-Phillips Funeral Home, Tama-Toledo, is assisting the family with arrangements.