Marilyn Louise Janke

Marilyn Louise Janke, 94 of Townsend, TN met with her Lord, and joined her husband Charles E. and daughter Beth M. Janke, when she passed Saturday, April 2, 2022. Marilyn was born in Chicago, IL to parents Frederick and Louise Fiedler. She worked after high school while Chuck attended college. After their first son was born, she became a full-time homemaker until her fifth child entered kindergarten. She then worked full-time as a real estate agent in Crystal Lake, IL, and then as Nunda Township’s Tax Assessor in McHenry County, IL. When she was 57 she freed her sense of adventure. She sold her home, quit her job, put the furniture in storage, waved goodbye, and took off traveling across the United States and Canada with her eldest daughter on a 17-month-long motorhome trip with a pair of 125cc Honda scooters hanging off the back. They visited every national park in the lower 48 states. On that trip, she decided she wanted to buy a campground and she and her daughter Kathleen bought Little River Village Campground, Deli and Gas Station in Townsend, TN in 1986. After ten great seasons, they sold that venture in 1995, and she assisted her daughter in running Gracehill Bed and Breakfast for another 20 years. She was actively working until her eyesight failed at age 90. Marilyn was a devout member of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Townsend. She is survived by son Mark C. Janke and wife Christine Towne, CT, daughter Kathleen A. Janke, Townsend, daughter Lisa C. Janke, Chicago, and son Michael E. Janke, wife Traci and her only grandchild Kane M. Janke, of Maryville. She leaves a beloved brother Frederick and wife Stephanie Fiedler, two sisters-in-law Anita Janke and Sandra Janke, along with many nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, if desired, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society https://www.cancer.org, the Alzheimer's Association https://alz.org, and Macular Degeneration Research https://support.brightfocus.org. Receiving of friends will be on Wednesday, April 20, 2022, from 10:30AM to 12PM at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 7719 River Rd, Townsend, TN with services/mass at 12PM. Lunch will be served at 1PM in the social hall. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Marilyn Louise Janke please visit our Sympathy Store.