EAST PEORIA - Karen Ann Jankovitz, 50, of Candler, N.C., formerly of East Peoria, passed on Tuesday, June 11, 2013.
She was born on Feb. 9, 1963, to Curtis and Helen Jankovitz in Peoria, Ill.
Karen attended East Peoria High School and went on to receive her A.S. in business at Hodges University in Naples, Fla., in 2001.
Karen lived for more than 16 years in Fort Myers, Fla., where she worked as a manager with DHL Inc. before relocating to Candler, N.C., where she lived on her 2.5-acre property with a beautiful view of the mountains that she loved so much. She lived this life here on Earth to the fullest that she possibly could, as if there was no tomorrow and her contagious smile would light up any room she entered.
She was always helpful to everyone she knew, friend or stranger, and always there to lend a hand to anyone who needed it. Always standing up for the underdog, never confrontational, but fiercely protective of the ones lucky enough to be her family or friends.
Karen was preceded in death by her father, Curtis E. Jankovitz Sr.; and survived by her daughter, Nikya K. Haley, husband, Dan, and grandkids, Gage and Hope of Roanoke, Ill.; her mother, Helen K. Coblentz of Fort Myers, Fla.; brother, Curtis E. Jankovitz Jr. and wife, Patricia, of Fort Myers, Fla.; uncle, Gerald Jankovitz of Beardstown, Ill., and all her loving cousins and friends.
Karen will be greatly missed by all who knew her.
Please visit her website: Karen-Ann-Jankovitz.forevermissed.com.
Donations can be made to any No Kill Animal Shelter.
Published in Peoria Journal Star on July 14, 2013