Karen Phannenstiel

Karen Elaine Thomas, the youngest child of John Malone Thomas and Ethel Irene Thompson, was born September 3rd 1939 in Des Moines Iowa.  The family lived on E 13th Street in Des Moines and attended Grand View Lutheran Church, where Karen and her brother Ron were baptized on April 5th 1942.

Her father John was a Movie broker, working for the Tri State Theater Corp.  It was his job to bring the current releases to the local theaters around the area.  Mom, Ethel was a stay-at-home mom, taking care of the kids.

By 1947 the family had relocated to Denver and settled into a small house at 36th and Osceola.  By 1953 the family had moved to central Denver and Karen attended East High School, graduating in 1957

Karen met Rudy (Rudolph) Phannenstiel shortly after high school.  Rudy was studying to become a police officer and joined the Denver police department on January 2nd, 1959.  Karen and Rudy were married in October of that same year and they began their life together.  The couple moved into an apartment on S. Albion, and in December 1960 welcomed their son Dirk.

Rudy continued to work his way up through the ranks of the police department, while Karen was a stay-at-home mom.  They were able to purchase their first house on Louisiana and Newton in the MarLee area of Denver.  They lived here until they purchased a house S. Vrain in Bear Valley.

The family continued to grow as they welcomed their daughter Lisa in May of 1966.  Not long after, son Dale was born in 1969, David, who was born prematurely and only lived a short time, and in 1972 Dean was born.

After Dean started to school, Karen decided it was time to go back to work and took a position at the Charles M. Schenck Community School, where she worked in the office.  Rudy retired in 1987 and she continued to work for a few more years.

Karen was always busy.  She loved to sew and was very involved in the quilting group at church.

After retirement, Rudy and Karen did some traveling, but spent most of their time relaxing at home.  The couple moved to a patio home in Littleton until Rudy’s death in 2017.

Karen is survived by her brother Ron (Vicky), sons Dirk (Cindee), Dale,  Dean (Linda) grandchildren and great grandchildren.

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