Karen Esther Annandale Siepman Zarandona, 1961-2025

(Note: The following is heavily dependent on, and quotes from, Karen's autobiography she wrote as part of her application to her Music degree program)

Karen Esther Annandale Siepman Zarandona "was born June 26, 1961 in the very hot little town of Saldanha Bay on the Western coast of South Africa." Not long afterwards, her parent moved further South to Oudsthoorn and, it was in this area, "the land of the Cango Caves and ostriches," that Karen had her "first childhood recollections."

Karen's father, Eric Annandale, was a captain in the South African Defense Force and her Mom, Alice Annandale, was a stay-at-home Mom who raised her three children, Sharon, Wayne and Karen, the youngest of whom was Karen. "It seems as though there was always a giggle, hug and a squeeze whenever you needed it."

"Dad religiously planned yearly family vacations and I seem to go from holiday to holiday in my scant memory. A huge white tent with cookers (pots and pans) and sleeping bags; lagoons and arm bands; floating lessons; riding for hours looking for the illusive zebra or wildebeest in the African wild."

In 1969, Karen's father left the Army in order to study to become a Seventh-day Adventist pastor, and the family moved to Helderberg College. "This, for me, was a rather melancholic time, as I remember it... playing for hours on the old carved piano in the banquet room of the cafeteria ... sight-reading through every music book any student left behind ... preferring to perfect fingering or timing. However, this paid off" as she remembers accompanying her mother "in perhaps the proudest moment for an eight year old to walk on stage with my frilly blue dress and play on the simply huge concert piano. This was followed by a stream of singing and playing memories."

After graduation, Pastor Annandale received a call to the mission field so dad, mom, older sister Sharon, brother Wayne and Karen, " packed our truly monstrous looking green four-wheel drive Jeep and headed for the border."

"Mission life in the desert climate of the Caprivi Strip ... was sensational. Our lives were filled with deadly venomous snakes, stampeding elephants" and huge baobab trees. "During our five-year stay in the settlement of Katima Mulilo, we lived through several mortar attacks." "Some of my fondest memories and fabulously hair-raising mission stories have been gleaned from this time-period. We learned the art of basic survival."

At sixteen years old, "needing to matriculate from high school South African style," Karen was sent to "Helderberg College... on the lush green slopes of Helderberg Mountain in the Cape of Good Hope."

"When my first banquet came up... a week before, a chap with dark hair, blue eyes and a definite gift to make me blush asked me and I accepted .... Errard and I became good friends." However, Errard, with his family moved to the United States and they had to part ways while Karen studied at the Pretoria Music School. Eventually, Errard invited Karen to visit him in the United States, so in 1980, she flew across the ocean where they re-kindled their friendship.

After returning to South Africa, she became even more focused in her music studies. "Again,the hard work paid off and I successfully played my finals." Ten months later, on June 14, 1981, Karen and Errard were married in South Africa and moved to Berrien Springs, Michigan. "We were so ridiculously happy that we did not know we were living on the verge of poverty. At one stage, we held six jobs between the two of us." "I kept up voice lessons, joined local choirs, played for churches and accompanied soloists."

"In 1984, we moved to Maryland where Errard had been offered solid employment... and I worked at Washington Adventist Hospital... it was fine but I still yearned to go back to school." However, they decided it was time to have children.

"Dustin Chad was born May 11, 1986, on Mothers' Day... who is the love of my life." However, in August 1987, Errard's spleen burst "and brought the grim reality of chronic myelogenous leukemia to our home." After a brave 13 month battle, Errard's mother Arlene, sister Sietie, and Karen's parents Eric and Alice "gathered round his bed, read a promise from the Bible, offered a prayer and the nurse quietly turned the machines off. It was Sabbath, September 3, 1988, 6:00 PM."

Karen and 2 ½ year old Dustin then moved to Kilmarnock, Virginia where her parents now resided. "We bought our own little home and began to adjust to doing things ourselves." "I picked up several piano students and taught lessons three times a week in the studio at home and started playing organ for a high-church Presbyterian congregation."

After a time, "with widowhood comes such a deep-seated, tangible loneliness, that I knew I wanted to find someone to develop a relationship with. To say I was scared would be a ridiculous understatement!"

Through her father's church, Karen met an evangelist couple, Mike and Kathy Chappell, whom Karen supported with music both at Karen's father's church as well as in Petersburg, Virginia. "Several months later ... [the Chappells] came to Tappahannock, a close town.... One evening, she (the evangelist's wife) called in a conspiratorial tone, indicating someone was close by, and mentioned talent, manners, gorgeousness, and anything else that she could think of... AND he needed a pianist to accompany him."

"Neither of us were disappointed, quite the contrary, in fact. Our first date was a Sabbath afternoon visit to George Washington's birthplace with a walk along the beach. The next week he came down to Kilmarnock and we went out to celebrate his birthday at Sol's Pizza. The next day, we realized this could be the beginning of an interesting friendship. The next week, he proposed. Three months later, we married."

Karen and Joshua then became teachers in the Christian Seventh-day Adventist educational system; one year at Garden State Academy in New Jersey, where five-year-old Dustin learned to dodge Canadian geese droppings while playing outside, "but both Joshua and I realized this was not the place to raise a child with" New York inner-city influence on campus. "We were offered a teaching post at Enterprise Academy (Kansas) and the whole setting, town and people were an answer to prayer."

In the middle of the school year, Karen became the director of the music program for the school, "this seemed to be the ideal job for a music lover – helping others make and love music."

"Joshua and I decided that since I was striding into the 30s, we better have a baby now or never. Seth Morgan was born September 18, 1993." This was a wonderful place for the children to grow. Dustin and his friends played in the barns and "fort" Joshua had built while Seth learned to literally run for hours through campus developing huge muscles in his 2 year-old legs. During this time, Karen also became a proud United States citizen.

In 1995, Karen began to work finishing her degree through Southwestern Adventist University from where she graduated.

By 1997, Karen and Joshua, although very happy in the very small town/rural setting of Enterprise, Kansas, began to feel the distance from their families and therefore, accepted an offer to teach at Mount Pisgah Academy in Candler, located in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina.

Karen thrived in the challenges and energy the students brought, directing the band, traveling choir and teaching voice and piano lessons. She took her music groups throughout North Carolina and also toured Puerto Rico with her choir. During this time, she developed deep, life-long friendships with faculty and students. Life was very busy being a full-time teacher and a full-time mom, but she thrived.

In 2004, Karen was invited to teach at Forest Lake Academy near Apopka, Florida where she directed the choral program and taught voice and piano. However, after 14 years of teaching, a change of career was called for. She applied and was offered a position at St. Sebastian Catholic Church in Sebastian, Florida, as Director of Music, serving under Father John Morrissey. Joshua, who had changed careers a year earlier, was already doing a lot of business along the Space and Treasure Coasts of Florida so the family moved to Sebastian.

This was a very happy period; Karen, not only directed the basic music program but put on performances of Jesus Christ Superstar, South Pacific (in concert) and others. Dustin finished a degree in Industrial Design and began his professional life. Seth became heavily involved in theater and appeared in numerous productions, including as LeFeu in Beauty and the Beast. Her boys' happiness was of utmost importance to her.

In 2015, Joshua was offered an opportunity to manage the Polk County office for a major Medicare health plan and Karen then found herself as Music Director for Church of the Resurrection in Lakeland, Florida where she continued making a huge impact with her music, organizational and creative abilities, serving under Father Charles Viviano.

In 2019, Karen decided to join Joshua's business in an insurance agency and, finding a natural aptitude, when Joshua returned to the Corporate world, opened her own independent insurance agency, Anzar Insurance Group, based in Bartow, FL. The years between 2020 and 2024 were happy, busy and, with Joshua often working from home, were able to work in the same office, spending quality time during breakfasts and lunches. On January 19, 2022, a little bundle called Wolffe was born to Dustin and Andrea and Karen reveled in her new role as Granny. Then, on December 19, 2024, Wilder was born and Karen's heart was full, always looking forward to weekends with her two precious grandsons. Karen would say that one of her most cherished titles was the one of "Granny."

However, in retrospect, Karen's energy level was gradually degrading, although there were no alarms and thought they were easily fixed issues.

On January 7, Karen and Joshua's 35th anniversary, they held hands during dinner and talked how "we could have another 20 years together." Little did they know what lay just ahead.

By the end of January, Karen had developed an upset stomach and eventually, repeated vomiting. A visit to a specialist led to tests, hospitalization and a diagnosis of Gastric Cancer Stage IV. After carefully weighing all options, Karen decided to fore-go treatment. She repeatedly told Joshua "I've had a good life." During her final illness, she received hundreds of messages, many of them telling her how influential she had been in her students' and church members' lives. Her concerns during these long weeks were for her husband Josh, her children, Dustin and Seth, her daughter-in-law Andrea and grandsons Wolffe and Wilder, whom she repeatedly consoled and reassured. Her sister Sharon was also able to visit and her father, visited her daily. Sietie was a rock, spending the last seven weeks with Karen.

Karen passed away, firmly believing in God's promises, having made a date with Joshua for Resurrection Day. She passed away, peacefully, with no pain with Joshua and her sister-in-law Sietie holding her hands, telling her how loved she is, how proud they are of her and reassuring her of meeting again at Jesus' Second Coming.

In a brief autobiography for her application to the Music degree program, Karen wrote: "My greatest desire is that God can use me as an instrument to perform His will in my life and others, thereby hastening His coming." Few have been used by God as effectively as Karen.

Family will receive friends Friday, May 9, 2025 from 10 - 11 a.m. at Whidden-McLean Funeral Home, Bartow. Funeral service will be held Friday, May 9, 2025, at 11 a.m. at Whidden-McLean Funeral Home. Interment will be held at Wildwood Cemetery, Bartow. Condolences to family at http://www.whiddenmcleanfuneralhome.com