Karen Diane Tate Eggers was born Dec. 23, 1948, in Moscow, to Dave and Reta (Short) Tate. She passed away peacefully, with family by her side, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, at Hospice of North Idaho Schneidmiller House in Coeur d’Alene. Karen is survived by her husband, the love of her life, Otto Leon Eggers, her daughter, her reason for being, Tiffany Hochberger (Scott), and her precious granddaughters, Taryn (fiancé Justin) and Tate Hochberger, who she loved with all her heart. She is also survived by sisters, who she had special bonds with, Nancy Kirkland (Teresa, Jari, and John) and Laura Baune (Ryan and Shawn). She was very proud of all her nieces and nephews. She is also survived by several cousins, whom she shared amazing memories with. Karen was preceded in death by her parents, Dave and Reta Tate, sister Dorothy Cox, brother Ray Tate, and stepson Lance Abendroth who she loved dearly.
Karen was born and raised in Moscow where she lived most of her life until she moved to Coeur d’Alene. As a child, she grew up living in Short’s Funeral Chapel which her parents owned and operated. We’ve heard many humorous stories about growing up and experiences with siblings and cousins in the funeral home. She graduated from Moscow High School in 1967 and attended school at College of the Desert in Palm Desert, Calif. Karen returned to Moscow where she worked at Dahmen Insurance for many years. She then worked as office manager at Helbling Bros. It was there where she met and fell in love with Otto. After moving to Coeur d’Alene, Karen worked at Schedler-Mack Insurance for 25 years (plus one day) until she retired. She loved the people she worked with and enjoyed sharing many colorful and unfiltered jokes and stories with co-workers, customers, and friends — sometimes much to the embarrassment of her family.
One of Karen’s favorite hobbies was going to the casino. This was definitely something that was passed down to her from her mom. She was known for sayings such as “you have to bet big to win big” and “just one more spin” — often said repeatedly resulting in several “one more spins.” Karen did have the lucky magic touch resulting in multiple jackpots at various casinos. She would say it was all in the rubbing and tapping of the screen during spins. Even talking and yelling to the machines if needed. She didn’t have quite the same luck playing bingo but she still loved it. There were many times she would share her winnings in the form of big tips to casino workers and bus drivers just because she thought they needed it.
Karen loved to do artsy things and always had a wide variety of craft projects going at any given time. By far her favorite was quilting. She met many special, lifelong friends through quilting and being part of her quilting group The Sew’l Sisters. Karen had a knack and passion for creating beautiful pieces and often would make quilts to donate to fundraisers, just to give to people because they touched her heart in some way, or felt they needed one. She even made one for a driver of the Coeur d’Alene Casino shuttle bus. Her daughter, granddaughters, and other family members and friends have also received many of these masterpieces and will forever treasure them.
Karen had a kind, giving, generous heart and would give anyone the shirt off her back if they needed it. Her family would like to ask that is how she be remembered. They would also like to thank her friends for all the love and support they provided her during these last years.
A celebration of Karen’s life will be held in the spring, date and place to be announced. In lieu of flowers, donations in her name may be made to the Hospice of North Idaho Schneidmiller House.
Short’s Funeral Chapel of Moscow is in charge of arrangements and condolences may be left at shortsfuneralchapel.com.
