Karen J. Bohr Sepaniak

Karen Joyce Sepaniak, 64, died Saturday, July 7, 2007, at Valley West Community Hospital in Sandwich, Ill., surrounded by her family, after a two-month battle with cancer.
Born Aug. 2, 1942, in Aurora, she was the daughter of Edward and Annabelle (Schwerer) Kuhn. She spent a delightful childhood on farms in DuPage County and always claimed that her happy childhood and good examples set by her parents and large extended family charted her life.
Karen graduated from Madonna High School in 1960 and went on to attend St. Joseph Mercy School of Radiologic Technology. She began working at Sandwich Community Hospital in 1969, where she continued until 2007.
She married her high school sweetheart, Arthur J. Bohr Jr., on Aug. 25, 1962, and from this marriage came three beautiful children: Colleen, Kathy and David. Following Art's untimely death in 1985, Karen went back to college with her children and graduated summa cum laude four years later with a degree in public relations from Aurora University. Combining careers, she was named patient representative and community relations director at Sandwich Hospital in 1989, now Valley West Community Hospital.
She married Bernard "Ben" Sepaniak on May 20, 1991, in Yorkville; together they weathered Ben's countless health challenges in the years that followed. Trips to Holland and Belgium in 2004 and a Danube River cruise in 2005 were treasured memories. The last health challenge, colon cancer, was her own, however.
Throughout her life, she was involved in work with her children and the community. She was a member of the La Leche League International Committee, Girl Scouts, was a 4-H leader and was a costume maker for Rosary High School plays. Cooking and doing crafts with her grandchildren were her favorite times.
Karen's community service included serving on the board of directors of DeKalb County Hospice, Aurora University Alumni Association, Sandwich Chamber of Commerce (of which she was currently vice president), St. Paul's Church Parish Council and various other church projects, including the Sandwich Benevolent Association, Mercy Center Alumnae Association and the Three Fires Council BSA Tribute to Heroes committee. She was a six-gallon donor with Heartland Blood Centers and was a frequent organizer of VWCH teams for fundraising events for Family Service Agency of DeKalb County, Relay For Life, American Heart Walk, Fox Valley Family YMCA, Sandwich Freedom Days and others.
But her greatest effort was bringing attention to preventing unnecessary loss of lives to suicide. A faithful supporter at Survivor of Suicide meetings for 20 years, she also was a founding board member of Suicide Prevention Services in 1998 and finished a three-year term as president in 2007. In 1998, she was a delegate to the assembly in Las Vegas, called by then "e3," to begin formulation of a national suicide prevention strategy for the United States. For about 10 years, she wrote 300 personal notes each year to those who had lost a loved one to suicide.
Her good works did not go unnoticed and she was the recipient of many awards, including Who's Who Among American Colleges and Universities - at age 42; the First Humanitarian Award from Hospital Corporation of America; and DeKalb County Tribute to Heroes Recipient.
She was preceded in death by her loving husband, Arthur Bohr Jr., in 1985; a brother-in-law, Jim Bohr, in 1996; and her father, Edward Kuhn, in 2001.
She is survived by her devoted husband, Bernard; three children, Colleen (Dan) Medernach of Batavia, Kathy (Tim) Bankhead of Easley, S.C., and David (Jenny) Bohr of Yorkville; the loves of her life, her seven grandchildren, Connor and Trenton Medernach, Abby and Noah Bankhead, Ryan, Megan and Evan Bohr, and a baby girl to be born in October; her mother, Annabelle, of Naperville; her mother- and father-in-law, Marjorie Bohr and Arthur Bohr Sr. of Aurora; and four brothers, Dave (Janet) Kuhn of Peachtree City, Ga., Jerry (Cheryl) Kuhn of Fort Myers, Fla., Ed (Karen) Kuhn of Sycamore and Chuck (Bev) Kuhn of North Aurora; and by Ben's four children, Bernie (Sue) Sepaniak, Chris (Bonnie) Sepaniak, Scott (Connie) Sepaniak and Mary (John) Verda, and his five grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 2-9 p.m. Tuesday, July 10, at Beverage Funeral Home in Sandwich. A funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, July 11, at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Somonauk. Committal services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, July 12, at S.S. Peter and Paul Cemetery in Naperville.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established in Karen's name to benefit St. Paul's Church Building Fund and/or Suicide Prevention Services. Checks can be made to the Karen Sepaniak Memorial Fund with preference noted on the memo line. Contributions can be sent to Castle Bank, 100 W. Church St., Sandwich, IL 60548.
For information, call (815) 786-6715.
For a longer version of this obituary, visit www.beveragefamilyfh.com.