Mary Jane Krahl

Mary Jane (Baldwin) Krahl, 97, of Moline, IL passed away Sunday, September 1, 2024, in her home. Funeral services will be held at 5:00 pm, Friday September 6, 2024, at First Baptist Church, 800 NE 6th Ave., Aledo, IL with visitation starting two hours prior to the funeral. Speer Funeral Home, Aledo is assisting the family. A private burial will be held at Aledo Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers a memorial may be given to the First Baptist Church of Aledo building fund. 

Mary Jane was born December 18, 1926, in Aledo, IL the daughter of J. Everett and Wilma (Anderson) Baldwin. Mary Jane grew up on her parents' farm with her two sisters Joan and Rosalee. She enjoyed a good book and her kitchen chores more than doing her outside ones.

In the summer of 1945 after high school graduation and the country was at war, she eloped and married Donald Keith Clausen in Seattle, WA. After they married, she came back to the Aledo area and started teaching. When the war ended, Mary Jane and Donald had three children: Donna, Stephen, and Douglas. 

After some marital difficulties that eventually ended in divorce, Mary Jane passionately pursued further education at Western Illinois University. In 1956, she returned to teaching in the Aledo school system and pursued a Bachelor of Science in Education during the summertime. She received her degree in May 1961. She worked hard as a single mom to provide for her three children. They didn’t have money for a car or other big items. She got her driver's license and a car at age 37. 

A year after receiving her bachelor’s degree, Mary Jane returned to summer school at Illinois State University to work on her master’s degree. In May 1966, she married Arthur Krahl, moved from Aledo to Rock Island, went back to summer school, and received her Master of Science in Education, in August 1966. Her move to Rock Island brought her to a new job as counselor at Washington Jr. High. After 16 years in that position, she was placed back into the classroom to finish her teaching career at Audubon Elementary School. She retired in 1982. 

She and Arthur traveled around the country enjoying places like Hawaii, Wyoming, the southwest, and even British Columbia, Canada. They divorced several years after her retirement. 

In 1994, Mary Jane and her sister Joan had a wonderful experience in Bolivia meeting the children each had sponsored through Compassion International. They shared in so much joy meeting the girls they had sponsored for years. Also, Mary Jane traveled to Israel and a few other countries.

Mary Jane fought hard for her children, advocating and providing the best she could for them. She valued friendships and family. She would often write letters and make phone calls to friends and family to stay in touch. It was important to her that her family received cards on birthdays, holiday’s, and other special occasions. As we all are not perfect neither was she, but she continued to grow in her relationship with Christ and did her best to be more like Him. 

She loved Jesus with all her heart and desired others to know and love Jesus. She regularly read through the whole Bible in a year, even in her last days. Mary Jane would spend time in fervent prayer for her family and friends. She said towards the end of her life, “my way to serve the Lord is through giving to various ministries.” She couldn’t go out and volunteer, but she knew the organizations and people she supported were sharing about Jesus. One legacy she leaves behind is her generous spirit and love for God. 

Survivors include; her sons Stephen (Terry) Clausen, Rock Island, and Douglas Clausen, Saint Anne, IL; son-in-law Vernon Johnson, Aledo; 8 grandchildren; 15 great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, sisters, daughter Donna Johnson, grand-daughter Kelly Smet, and great grandson Bryce Clausen.