Karen Andrea Niehans

Karen was born on May 2, 1942 to Vivian and Ollie Frigaard in South Bend, IN. After Karen graduated from Niles High School (MI) in 1960, she went on to study education at Stephens College in MO. She earned her BS degree from Miami University in OH. After graduating with a degree in education, she started her first job in Glen Ellyn, IL as a 2nd grade teacher.

In 1965, Karen met Sam at Colorado University in Boulder. They were engaged at Thanksgiving in 1965 and wed on Jun. 18, 1966. Karin and Sam went on to have 3 children, Erik, Andrew, and Ingrid and 6 grandchildren.

Karen was an amazing mother, friend, philanthropist and wife. She was quick to help others. She was funny, had a strong sense of right and wrong, and was very kind hearted. She had a memory like a steel trap and was a diligent correspondent. She rarely spent money on herself. Although conscientious of her appearance, she rarely wore makeup and never pierced her ears. Most of all she was amazing with kids - patient, fun, creative, understanding, compassionate, and educationally minded. Karen loved being a grandmother even more than a mother, and would quickly drop to the floor to play and could spend hours playing make believe. She raised strong, independent children and was devoted to her grandchildren.

Karen’s interests were varied and many. She continued learning throughout her entire life. She took classes including swing and ballroom dancing, wood refinishing, Norwegian, history, and political commentaries. She continued to play the piano, knit, crochet, and sew throughout much of her adult life. She instilled in her children the importance of education and a love for many things including: music, art, culture, nature, crafts, reading, and travel. Karen was a voracious reader. She loved all kinds of books, but was especially interested in reading about social awareness. She started book clubs in numerous organizations, including First UMC and a statewide book club in Wisconsin within P.E.O..

Karen loved games. She was an avid bridge player, participating in numerous bridge groups through the years. She played double (triple, quadruple) solitaire with her kids and eventually grandkids. She played a variety of board games, especially aggravation, boggle, monopoly, scattergories, memory, and all kinds of card games.

Karen took on a number of responsibilities that by themselves would be a lot for one person - yet she managed to juggle them all. She kept a spotless house, did all the shopping and cooking, logged thousands of miles driving, was always available and attentive to her kids, remembered everyone’s birthday and kept up all the correspondence, worked a part time or full time job outside the home, and made a huge impact on others volunteering. On top of all those responsibilities, she managed to find a little time for herself through her bridge groups and bird watching.

Karen always had homemade meals for her family. She would spend part of every weekend reading through recipes and creating the menu and grocery list for the week. She clipped coupons, shopped on double coupon day, and managed to provide healthy, balanced meals on a strict budget. She was a great cook and would try all kinds of new recipes. She would get up early to make breakfast, especially hot cereal in winter. The family nearly always ate dinner together and the meals always included the various food groups. Karen always candles on the tables.

Karen was a chauffeur to her children and their friends. During a time when 30 minutes was a long way to drive, she drove thousands of miles for her kids' activities. She would drive around the midwest to swim meets and 3 hours each way to watch Ingrid play softball in college (always with a batch of brownies for the team). She took the kids to lessons (swim, softball, bowling, piano, dance, volleyball, basketball, guitar to name a few), practices (both school and regional for sports, music, and theater), competitions, the library, church youth activities, church camps in Northern WI and Michigan, sport camps around the state, and college tours. She spent a large amount of her time at sporting events. Initially she would bring the kids to watch Sam referee and coach, and as the kids grew she rarely missed the many games and activities they participated in. Even as a grandmother, she made as many events as she could.

Karen always worked to help the family financially. She started her teaching career in Glen Ellyn, IL and taught in Colorado Springs before she had kids. After moving to Beloit she worked at a nursery school, was an elementary school aid in a number of school districts, substitute taught, and was a secretary for the AODA department in the Beloit school district.

She was an avid bird watcher. She was an officer and member of the Ned Holister Bird Club. She participated in programs and hiking, visited national birding spots, and hosted the annual bird count dinner. Most importantly she did backyard birding every day in her Wisconsin and North Carolina homes.

Karen was a lifelong conservationist. She was on the Board of Directors for the Wealty Environmental Center. She would take her kids and later grandchildren walking with a trash bag to pick up litter in parks and along the road. She recycled before it was common to do so.

Karen made a huge impact as a volunteer and social activist. She was a progressive, who was concerned for anyone needing assistance; she was “woke” way before her time. Karen was willing to stand up to societal pressure to let people be who they were. She would also be the first to volunteer to pick up someone who could no longer drive. She was involved in an extraordinary number of non-profits over the years, including First UMC of Beloit, P.E.O., Meals on Wheels, Adult Literacy, volunteering for a month at an Indian reservation in New Mexico, Wealty Environmental Center, den leader for Cub Scouts, PTA, Beloit Girls Softball, and Urban Ministries.

Karen was a 28 year member of P.E.O., a non-profit focused on education for women. She was heavily involved in the scholarship committee in both her WI and NC chapters. She held several chapter offices, including chapter president. She held a statewide position organizing and leading a book club, visited Cottey College multiple times, and attended both State and International Conventions.

Karen had a love of travel and other cultures. She and Sam would sponsor international students from Beloit College. They hosted an International Exchange student for part of a year. Karen built a relationship with several P.E.O. international scholarship recipients and met up with them several times.She also loved to travel. She and Sam spent a month volunteering on an Indian reservation in New Mexico. She has been to nearly every state in the continental US. She has traveled through Asia and extensively through Europe, including three trips to Scandinavia. She and Sam took their family on many trips across the country, showing their kids the major landmarks of America.

Karen was proud of her Norwegian / Scandinavian heritage. She traveled to Scandinavia several times starting in college, and had a lifelong friendship with her host mom and family. She studied Norwegian and a Norwegian prayer was spoken at all the holiday meals. She was an active member of the Sons of Norway lodge in Janesville, WI for many years, giving of her time and finances to support the group. She held several offices and was involved in the lutefisk dinners, kiwanis breakfasts, golf outings, and hosted an annual baseball tailgate party. She was a key member in organizing the Hardanger group and made beautiful pieces to share with friends and family.

Karen was an active member of the First United Methodist Church of Beloit, WI. She organized a knitting group and developed a program to donate sweaters for kids, sending hundreds of sweaters around the world. She taught Sunday school, played in the bell choir, and was active in the women’circle. She modeled the Christian values of serving others, giving to the poor, and loving your neighbor. She expressed the philosophy of caring for others above self in thought and deed.

Karen was predeceased by her parents Ollie and Vivian Frigaard, her brother John Frigaard and cousin Carol Cassells, in addition to aunts, uncles, and grandparents. She is survived by her husband of 56 years, Sam Niehans as well as their three children, spouses and grandchildren: Erik, Kim, Kieran and Sean Niehans; Drew, Dede, Aly, and Alex Niehans; Ingrid, Darian, Izzy and Cora Stum. In addition to her children and their families, she is survived by her sister Ingrid and Tim Yonker, Ellen Goldstein and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

Celebration of life will be announced in the future. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to one of the following organizations that Karen felt strongly about: P.E.O. IPS scholarship, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, BackPack Beginnings, or UMCOR.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.haneslineberryfhsedgefield.com for the Niehans family.