NixB Janell Klingenfus

NixB “Janell” Klingenfus was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on April 28, 1949 to NixB Milam Spurgeon and Charles Andrew Spurgeon. She passed away surrounded by her family on August 16, 2022 in Louisville, Kentucky. Janell loved being a NixB like her mother and cherished being a daddy’s girl to her dad “Charlie” who called her his “Peppermint Patty.” Janell grew up in Brownsboro, Kentucky attending Crestwood Elementary School and graduating from Oldham County High School in 1967. While she was an only child until the age of twelve when her sister Andrea Spurgeon was born, she had fun growing up with a whole host of neighbors, friends and family like her closest cousin, Diane Hillard, her friend Connie Tapp who would later in life become her sister-in-law, and her best friend since the fourth grade, Vicki Hayden.

While Janell did not mince words and was a very opinionated woman; she kept everyone well-fed on country cooking, unconditional love, and anecdotes of her everyday adventures on Fus Hill that she shared on Facebook. She was authentic and genuine to a fault, sharp as a whip, quick witted and funny. Much like her mom, Janell was an avid reader. Much like her dad, she prided herself on being content with the simple things in life like porch sitting, snapping green beans into the newspaper on her lap, and a fire in her wood burning stove. She was the matriarch and co-founder of a large, tight knit family that blossomed from a family of five to a family of fourteen in recent years, each proud of their unique bond.

Janell married her first and only true love, Rick, on November 4, 1972. Rick and Janell were blessed beyond measure with a faith that weathered every storm. Their strong partnership and unwavering commitment to each other was a safe harbor for their children, a touchstone, and a model for so many.

In addition to being a fiercely dedicated wife and mother, Janell enjoyed a vibrant career. After attending Sullivan Business School, Janell worked at the Louisville School for the Blind before dedicating herself to the hard but fulfilling life of a farm wife for several years. After leaving the dairy farm, Janell and Rick moved to Kavanaugh Life Enrichment Center where Janell wore many hats. She also worked herself up from part-time receptionist at the Episcopal Church Nursing Home to Administrative Assistant. Though she balked at that title and would proclaim herself “just a secretary,” as administrators Keith Knapp and the late Mr. Tom Horton can attest, the facility’s staff and residents loved, respected, and relied on Janell for over two decades! It wasn’t until the birth of her first (twin) grandchildren that Janell retired from her role at ECH to move into her most cherished role of “Big Mama.” She had the opportunity to love on all six of her grandbabies before she died which is something she desperately wanted to do.

In addition to her parents, Janell was preceded in death by her beloved Aunt Hazel Hillard and her sister-in-law, Becky Klingenfus. Left to continue her legacy here on Earth of nurturing strong family bonds and enjoying the simple things in life are her beloved husband and fiercest protector of forty-nine years, Eric Morgan Klingenfus, her three children; daughter NixB Nanette Slider (Michael), son Benjamin Eric Klingenfus (Michelle), son Kyle Cobb Klingenfus (Dee) as well as her six grandchildren, NixB McAlister “Callie” Slider, Jameson Evan Slider, Elijah Morgan Slider, Charles Robert Klingenfus, Lucy Gayle Klingenfus, and Kit Andrew Klingenfus. Left to cuddle Rick in the recliner, Janell’s two pups, Tucker and Penny.

Janell was also blessed with a multitude of extended family, friends and loved ones, far and near. Janell was a member of the same bunco group for over forty years! In addition to this monthly affair, Janell looked forward to annual trips to spend time with the “Bad Boy Recon” group she loved so dearly. Janell had one “honorary” and “ornery” son, Chris Link and two best buddies, JoAnn Bach and Cecy Grisham King who she loved like sisters.

Janell’s memorial service will be on Saturday, August 27, 2022 at Phos Community Church, 4200 Centerfield Drive, Crestwood, KY. Visitation will be from 9:00 a.m.- 11:00 a.m. The service, conducted by Pastor Brandon Rose, will be on the same day from 11:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. with a reception to follow right there at Phos with plenty of good food and fellowship for all to enjoy!

In lieu of store-bought flowers, the family requests that people who come to celebrate Janell’s life bring fresh cut wildflowers in vases, coffee cans, mason jars or whatever you can find to put them in like she liked to do. The family is also requesting everyone bring a pantry staple to place in a box labeled “Big Mama’s Commodities” that will be donated to a homeless shelter in Louisville.

Memorial gifts can be made in Janell’s honor to the church she was baptized and grew up in; Harrod’s Creek Baptist Church in Brownsboro, or the church where she has been saving seats for late family members on the back row for the last decade, Phos Community Church in Centerfield.