Mrs. Nancy Carol Knopp
Born
Passed into Glory
Written by her oldest son,
Bishop Robert D. Conley,
S.C.
We are here to commemorate, remember and honor the life of one that has touched our lives. To many she was a friend, to some an older
sister and to one a dearly loved wife and companion whom she loved as much as he did her and that I am proud to call a step-father,
her loving and cherished husband Bruce.
She was a person filled with compassion and love and would listen to the fears, hurts
and concerns of others, even those she did not know personally. Much can be said about how we feel about her, the memories we have
of her and all the things she did for so many during her life. All of these things are special and unique, and will be cherished by
each one of us who were touched by her. To me though, she is “MOM”, yes, she is my mother but also much more.
My memories of
her will be something that I will always cherish and I thank the Lord my God for having her as my Mom. I could share many of my fondest
memories of her but so could many others. Yet, that is only part of the legacy she leaves us. As her oldest son I have been given
the honor of writing this tribute about my Mom. The night she passed away and took the journey home to our Heavenly Father made me
seriously think about somethings. Our fondest memories about our loved ones as important as they are may only last a generation or
so, then they become only a name and a picture to later generations. This started making me reflect on her life on a grander scale,
asking myself what about her life is the lasting legacy she leaves us. The type of legacy that passes from generation to generation
whether we have memories about someone or not. This type of legacy few seldom consider about their loved ones, for this legacy speaks
of what was the essence and heart of our loved one’s life that after we ourselves have also passed away and our memories with us,
becomes the enduring legacy that passes from generation to generation.
The key to this tribute and her legacy started on the
night of her passing away. As I sat at her dining room table, as I had done so many times before in visiting her, I seen a little
gift that Bruce had got for her some time back. It was a little pewter angel which I had seen her many times pick up and handle while
visiting her. Mom loved angels which was one of the things she collected. This angel was nothing spectacular or anything like that.
It is just a little coin like object with an angel figure on it. On the back is inscribed the word “LOVE” but the real key is the
little inscription on the thin plastic slipcover which reads, “An angel to remind us to love one another”. As I thought about those
words a Scripture came to mind where Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved
you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (RSV)
John 13:34-35. This has been the enduring legacy of Jesus Himself, His love for us not just in words but in His actions. And He called
us to do the same.
Early in her life, as Mom and I had talked about so many times before, she had learned to be a lover of God
and I believe in my heart in those last days in her spirit she once again drew close to that love for God that she had in her earlier
years. She had told me about not missing church and prayer meetings and how that memorizing Scriptures was part of her early life.
She had also told me of being baptized in a creek that was ice covered and that the ice had to be broken to baptize her and some others
that day. She had also learned in being the oldest of ten children to love her family as she had to help take care of the younger
children. All of this was, in essence, training for what would become her enduring legacy to us.
As Bruce and I sat talking
the day after her going home to her eternal rest and peace with our Heavenly Father, Bruce made the comment that she was into her
family. And that is true, she loved us with all of her heart, unconditionally. But it is also a partial truth in ways. Her love knew
no bounds and went beyond her family to touch many others throughout her life. See this is a secret overlooked by many, when we love
others and that love is responded to it creates a greater capacity to love others in an ever growing way.
Her enduring legacy
to us that will live beyond our own generation and that will endure for generations to come is this....... That we love one another.
She showed us this not just in words but in her actions and deeds, many times denying herself to help someone else in need. This is
the gift and legacy she has left us and as long as we remember this and put it into practice her legacy will continue. I know that
time and age will in all probability fade certain memories that I now cherish about her, but the one thing that lasts eternally is
love. The love she exemplified to us in her life is one that if we ourselves live out, will in turn be lived out by our children and
their children and their children on through countless generations to come. And though those future generations may not know her like
we do, her legacy of loving one another will be inherited by them because we learned it from her.
Mom, I love you and will miss
you dearly, as do all who are gathered here to remember your life among us. But hidden from us, while you were with us, was that you
were one of God’s hidden angels in our midst teaching us by your life what is the very essence of God Himself, Loving others.
Nancy
C. Knopp
Nancy Carol Knopp, 62, of
She was
born
Nancy was a homemaker and is survived by her husband, William Bruce Knopp; three sons, Kevin, Johnny and Dean Conley, all of Parkersburg; a stepson, Joshua Knopp; a stepdaughter, Jenna McClellan, both of Houston, Texas; seven grandchildren; one great-grandchild; several nieces and nephews; one brother, Robert Fox of Parkersburg; eight sisters, Judy Barker of Florida, Sandy Westberry of Florida, Linda White of Massachusetts, Brenda Snider of Vienna, Tammy McConnell of Parkersburg, Donna Daugherty of Little Hocking, Tina Tanner of Mineral Wells and Jackie Tanner of Parkersburg.
There will be a memorial service
†