Audrey L. Hafner

Audrey was born July 20, 1936 in El Dorado, AR to Vera Crandall and Thomas Knight. She moved to Redondo Beach, CA to live with her brother when she was 14 years old and graduated from Redondo Beach Union High School. Audrey moved to Indiana where she met and married the love of her life, John Hafner. Together, they had four children, Elizabeth Pietsch (Steve) of Naperville, IL, Christopher Hafner (Kelly) of London, England, and Madeline Hafner (Tina Hatch) of Farmington, UT. She was preceded in death by her husband; her oldest son, David Hafner; both parents; two brothers, Charles and Thomas Knight; and her beloved sister, Madeline Perdue. Audrey had seven grandchildren, Steven, Andrew, Dan, John, Will, Emma, and Liam; and six great-grandchildren, all of whom she loved very much. Audrey is survived by her sister-in-law, Kathy Hammond; her brother-in-law, Bill Fox; and her many nieces and nephews.

While raising her family and working full time, Audrey was active in St. Michael’s Catholic Church, where she spent 11 years teaching Marian Award classes to young women. She enjoyed big Hafner family get-togethers, and especially loved organizing many family Christmas trips to Brown County State Park. Audrey worked for 40 years, 37 on the Erie, Conrail, and IHB Railroads. After she retired, and after living in Schererville for 36 years, she moved to Mt. Lebanon, PA to live near her son and his young family, where she fell in love with the area, and enjoyed 18 years there. She was active in the Newcomers Club, her condo association, and several book clubs. She raised restoration funds for the Dennis Theater, and with several of her many wonderful friends, ushered at the Pittsburgh Theatre. Audrey was always open to growing and learning new things. While in the Pittsburgh area, she enrolled in an adult education course at Carnegie Mellon University and said that now she could say she attended CMU! Audrey also loved traveling. In her lifetime, she traveled to all 50 states and 14 countries. One of her favorite places of all was England, where she visited several times. She also loved playing games. She learned bridge at 74 and Mahjong at 80, and was a fierce Rummikub player even when her eyesight was failing. But most of all, Audrey loved her family.

We, her family, would like to thank everyone who visited mom during these last hard years when she was so far away from her children, especially Joan Higginbotham and her sweet girls, Kathy and Tim Hardy, Bill and Karen Dodaro, and the many nieces and nephews who showed her much love and care as her health declined. These visits brought joy to her days and always left her feeling loved. We would also like to extend our appreciation to the many kind care providers and residents at StoryPoint Schererville who took such good care of Mom. And to the staff at Traditions Hospice, too, especially as they helped us navigate the last two weeks of mom’s life.

A visitation for Audrey will be held at Chapel Lawn Funeral Home, 8178 Cline Avenue, Crown Point, IN 46307 on Thursday, May 8, 2025 from 4:00 - 8:00 pm, and again Friday, May 9, 2025 from 9:30 am until the time of her celebration of life at 10:30 am, also at Chapel Lawn Funeral Home. She will be laid to rest next to her husband at Chapel Lawn Memorial Gardens.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.ChapelLawnFunerals.com for the Hafner family.