Karen Kay Trone

Born July 30th, 1943, in Rushville, IL, Karen was the 4th of 5 children to Sammie and Helen (McClelland) Phillips.

Karen graduated from Rushville High School and moved to southern Illinois, living in Edwardsville, IL, and surrounding communities for over 50 years. She graduated from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville (SIUE) in 1978 and became a Certified Public Accountant in 1979. After working at Scheffel & Co. in Edwardsville, IL, and Barnes-Jewish-Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, MO, early in her career, Karen worked as a financial specialist at SIUE for 22 years prior to her retirement in 2012.

She was a loving and supportive mother and grandmother that cherished spending time with and traveling with family and friends. When not spending time with her family, life-partner, Chuck, and her friends in Edwardsville, she frequently returned to Rushville to visit with her parents and siblings and their families. A lover of nature, especially flowers, she was a long-time member of the Missouri Botanical Garden.

In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by her brother Dale (Mary Lou) Phillips of Rushville, IL; brother Donald (Karen) Phillips of Rushville, IL; her ex-husband, D. Kent Trone of Troy, IL; her partner in life and love Charles (“Chuck”) Zinkhon of Edwardsville, IL; brother-in-law Dennis Heitz, and her sister-in-law Ruth Phillips.

She is survived by her son Mark (Toni) Trone of Sudbury, MA; sister, Joyce Heitz; brother, Marvin Phillips, and children of Chuck Zinkhon, Dave (Amy) Zinkhon of Poulsbo, WA; Cathy (Shane) Matsumoto of Phoenix, AZ; and her grandchildren, Jordan and Lily Trone, Elizabeth and Grace Zinkhon, and Dharma and Zuzu Matsumoto.

A memorial service will be held at Immanuel United Method Church, 800 N Main St, Edwardsville, IL, her spiritual home since 1964, on Saturday, April 5, 2025 at 11AM.

Memorials may be made to the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Alzheimer’s Association, or the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.