Karianne Carroll-Johnson

Better known as Karianne, “Frijole,” “Aunt Bean,” and “Grams,” she was born in Osborne, Kansas on September 3, 1934, to Clarence and Maxine Meeker. Her sister, Mary Faith, was born in 1938, also in Osborne.

Karianne and her family moved to Peoria, Arizona, in 1940 and Karianne met her future husband, Kenneth Johnson, in the first grade. The family settled on West Washington Street in Peoria, west of the town park, where Karianne often spent hours skating. She also worked at Peoria Theater off Washington Street, selling tickets and popcorn.

Back at her house, she had friends in the form of the Washington Street gang. They often played ball and “kick the can” together on the street. Karianne had also learned to play the organ and piano, and at age 12, she played with her friend Lola Smith for worship services at The Peoria Church of the Nazarene.

Karianne was an A student on the honor roll, played girls' basketball, and played the saxophone in the band. She'd often gather in her backyard with her Washington Street gang friends and serenade the neighborhood.

After high school, Karianne got a job as a front desk teller at First National Bank in Glendale. She enrolled at Grand Canyon University and earned her master’s degree. She went on to teach first, second, and third grades at Harold W. Smith and then William C. Jack in Glendale for nearly 25 years. Karianne loved teaching, and she was beloved by students, staff, and parents alike.

Karianne loved candy, traveling, and art – particularly Renoir’s “A Girl with a Watering Can.” She loved spending summers with family on Whidbey Island, and her favorite beach was Ebey’s landing.

In the mid-1950s, Karianne married Andrew Carroll, and they went on to have a son, Jeff, who died at the age of four in 1962; they also had a son, Brian, who was stillborn. Their daughter, Kimberly, was born in 1962, and their daughter, Amy, was born in 1964.

Karianne and Kenneth reconnected after his first wife passed away and they married on August 15, 2002. They had 21 good years together.

Karianne is predeceased by her sons, Jeff and Brian, as well as her sister, Mary Faith, and former husband and the father of her children, Andrew Carroll. She is survived by her husband, Kenneth Paul Johnson; daughters Kimberly Carroll and Amy Burns (Chris); grandchildren Lauren Deters (Chase), Caitlin Fluegge, and Mason Carroll; stepson Kenneth Johnson; stepdaughters Linda Jeffries (Rick) and Laura Vesely (Frank); grandchildren Anthony Vesely (Davi), Anna Vesely, Holly Johnson, Collin Jeffries, Emma Miller (Jacob), and Kylie Jeffries.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hospice of the Valley and First Presbyterian Church in Peoria.