Karen E Arnold (77) of Teutopolis

Karen E. Arnold, 77, of Teutopolis passed away on Thursday, September 12, 2024.

Karen was born on April 23, 1947 in Fairmont, Minnesota, to Edward John and Teresa Ellen (Beckstrom) Maday. While still residing in Minnesota, Karen met her devoted and loving husband, William Thomas (Tom) Arnold II, on May 1, 1979. Shortly thereafter, the couple married on June 28, 1980. Within a few years of getting married, life brought the young couple to Illinois where they have been proud Teutopolis residents for over forty years. Professionally, Karen spent over 30 years of her life as a dedicated and passionate educator. Karen’s last 20 years in education were spent positively impacting innumerable lives at Teutopolis Grade School. Mrs. Arnold, the elementary teacher, will be remembered for caring about each and every one of her students’ overall well-being, and not merely their academic progress. She retired in 2013 from education to begin the next chapter of her life. After her retirement, Karen and Tom became avid travelers and spent over 768 days cruising the world. They had over ten years of traveling to exotic places and sharing rare experiences. The past ten years of travel became some of Karen’s most cherished memories of her and Tom’s 45 years together.

Karen is survived by her loving husband, Tom; her two children, Sarah (husband Mitchell) Malcolm of Springfield, Illinois, and William Thomas (Tommy) Arnold III (Victoria McDonald) of Robinson, Illinois; and her two brothers, Dennis Maday and Paul (Vicki) Maday of New Ulm, Minnesota. Karen was also blessed with six grandchildren that will deeply miss their “Gaga”: Kaylin, Madeline, Kaden, and Mikaela of Springfield and Benjamin and Lillian of Robinson.

Karen was preceded in death by her parents and brother, Gilbert Maday.

Visitation will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Friday, September 20, 2024 at Johnson Funeral Home in Effingham, Illinois. A private graveside service at Watson Cemetery will be held the following day for the family. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made to the Smith Center for Alzheimer's Research and Treatment at SIU Medicine located in Springfield, Illinois, where Karen received treatment from professional, knowledgeable, and caring staff. Donations will help assist the program to continue to help those affected by the disease and further the program’s research efforts.