Alfreda Karlin, Catherine, Kansas, age 88, passed away early Saturday morning, June 5, 2021, in Brentwood, Tennessee, where she lived with her daughter. Alfreda died from Alzheimer’s Disease.
Alfreda was born on May 16, 1933, in Hays to Alfred and Constance (Novak) Wiesner. She was their only child. She married Wilfric Karlin, Catherine, on August 1, 1962, and they were married until his death February 13, 2002. Together, they had 2 children, 5 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren.
Alfreda’s father, Alfred, was a butcher and ran the family grocery store, Wiesner’s, on Main Street. As a girl, Alfreda loved to visit her father in the store and help with grocery deliveries. She loved being outdoors, gardening, riding her bike around Hays and going to the country to ride her horses and to fish. She was also an avid reader, a hobby that gave her much pleasure her entire life. She attended, St. Joseph’s Parochial School, Girl’s Catholic High and Fort Hays State University. She graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education in 1955 and taught 2nd grade for 7 years at Immaculate Heart of Mary Elementary, now Holy Family Elementary.
In 1962, she married Wilfric Karlin and they made their home together on a farm near Catherine. Alfreda gave up teaching to raise her two children John Karlin and Ruth Karlin Albrecht. She continued her love of teaching as an elementary religious ed teacher for the Catherine parish for many years where she was a member. Alfreda loved the country life. She loved animals and flowers and the beauty of nature. She took long walks on the family farm several times a day. She loved to travel and see the world. She visited all 50 states, both neighboring countries, and took many trips abroad to Europe, China and Australia. But she always loved returning to her home on the farm where she lived until 2016.
Alfreda moved to Nashville to live with her daughter Ruth and son-in-law John Albrecht in 2016. There, she was cared for in the home as her Alzheimer’s disease progressed.
She is survived by her son, John Karlin, and wife Susan of Catherine; her daughter, Ruth Albrecht, and husband John, of Brentwood, TN; grandchildren, Jake Karlin, and wife, Emily, of Catherine; Jordan Ottley, and husband Jordan, of Catherine; Alex Barrett of Nashville, TN; Kendra Karlin of Kansas City, KS; Austen Berry, and husband David of Nashville, TN, and six great grandchildren, Liberty, Bella, and Lily Karlin and Josie, Lucy, and Oliver Ottley.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Alfred Wiesner (1978) and Constance (Tance) Novak Wiesner (1994), and her husband, Wilfric Karlin (2002).
Alfreda will be cremated and return to Kansas for a funeral mass and burial in Catherine, Kansas on August 13. The family is requesting all memorials to go to the Alzheimer’s Foundation.
Alfreda’s special request: As a young girl Afreda was extremely shy. As an adult she would make a friend everywhere she went. She was gentle, kind to all, and curious about everything. She especially liked to seek out an individual who was all alone or who looked totally different than herself and strike up a conversation. She would start with a compliment or a question. She was truly interested in who they were, and it showed. She was always received with a smile and kindness. People loved when she approached them to compliment a piece of jewelry or hairstyle, for example. She asked the story of their tattoos, piercings, dreadlocks, or just how their day was going. She wanted to make people feel good about themselves. In her memory, she wanted everyone to smile at a stranger, give a compliment to the person next to you, or start up a conversation with the person standing by themselves. Find common ground, really connect with all people and learn how to love your neighbor better.