Karen Gast

Karen Gast passed away at the age of 70 years old, peacefully in her home, surrounded by her loved ones on September 7th in Boonville, Missouri. She was born on December 23, 1953, the daughter of Charles and Geraldine Knorp.  She grew up in Prairie Home, Missouri with her parents and two sisters, along with many generations of her family who also lived in Prairie Home. She was a proud resident there for more than half her life, until moving to Boonville in 2003, where she remained until her death.

Karen was no stranger to hard work and was very proud of the work she accomplished over her lifetime. She graduated from Laura Speed Elliot High School in Boonville, and she later went to work for the State of Missouri in 1974. Karen worked at Ellis Fischel Hospital in Columbia, Missouri, in the Personnel and Payroll Department, and after 20 years of service she left and went to work for the Boonville Correctional Center in Boonville in the Personnel Department for another 10 years. After 30 years of Service to the State of Missouri, she retired in 2004. 

After she retired from the State, Karen began working for her nephew Keith Herigon as his secretary and bookkeeper, before later accepting a position at 1st Choice Realty in 2008 as the office manager, where she worked for another 17 years. She loved the work she did there, and remarked to her family, “That she couldn’t wait to get up every morning and go to the office and see what was happening for the day!”

Karen also loved animals. She loved her dog Cody, and when he passed away, she said she could never get another pet because it broke her heart. However, it was well known that Karen was in love with the office cats at 1st Choice Realty, Zuke, Lucky Dog, and especially her beloved Olive and Bean, both of whom could often be seen in the front window of the office nearly every day. On the weekends Karen would go down to the office to check in on her little buddies and make sure they weren’t up to trouble and to play with them.

Karen was preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Geraldine Knorp, and her sister and brother-in-law, Kathy and Art Liebi. Karen is survived by her sister Charlene (Mickey) Reichel, her niece Laura (Keith) Herigon, and niece Elizabeth Schler, as well as a multitude of great nieces and nephews.  

A visitation will be held on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, at Howard Funeral Home from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. with a funeral service to follow at 11:00 a.m. at the funeral home. Burial services will follow the funeral at New Salem Cemetery.

If you would like to send flowers for Karen’s funeral, she loved pink roses and a variety of other flowers, but she would also have been proud to have donations made in her honor to Cooper County 4-H or the Boonville Animal Shelter.

Arrangements are under the direction of Howard Funeral Home, 1397 Ashley Rd., Boonville, Mo 65233 (660) 882-3381. Condolences may be shared with the family at www.howardfh.com.

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