Peggy L. Knapp, 86, of Hermitage, Missouri, died Friday, November 20, 2020 at Lake Regional Hospital in Osage Beach, MO.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00am on Monday, November 30, 2020 at the Atkinson Funeral Home in Harrisonville, MO, with burial following in Crescent Hill Cemetery in Adrian, MO. The family will receive friends 10:30 -11:00 am Monday at the funeral home.
With profound sadness, we announce the passing of Peggy, our loving and devoted mother and friend to all whose lives she touched. She left us November 20, 2020 while sleeping peacefully. She now is at rest and eternally in the presence of our Lord. She was in her 86th year.
Peggy was a devoted and beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother who will be remembered for her unfailing strength and endurance. She remained an independent woman while enduring many hardships along the way. Her family was her greatest achievement and she was so proud of the accomplishments of her children and grandchildren.
Peggy Lou Crozier was born in Coffeyville, Kansas on February 8, 1934, the eldest daughter of Clifford and Doris (Pearson) Crozier. Peggy grew up in Osawatomie, Kansas, where she attended school and helped with her younger siblings. At the age of fifteen, Peggy married her husband of 61 years, James Roy Knapp. This marriage was blessed with 7 children, 17 grandchildren, 24 great grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren.
Peggy is preceded in death by her parents, Clifford and Doris Crozier; her beloved husband, James Roy Knapp; her son, Clarence Raymond Knapp; grandson, Larry James Crowder; son-in-law, Henry Jeff Rietz; and brother-in-law, John Allcorn. She is survived by her sisters, Shirley Thomas, Lane, Kansas, and Janie Allcorn, Blue Mound, Kansas; her brothers, Raymond Crozier and wife, Sharon, of Mountain Home, Arkansas, and Thomas and wife, Loretta, of Osawatomie, Kansas.
She was the beloved mother of Jimmie and wife, Teresa, of Springfield, MO, Deborah and husband, Bob Miller, of Collins, MO, Susan Rietz of Adrian, MO, Rebecca and husband, Quinten Bishop, of Tunas, MO, Penny Whitaker and Gary Kleeman of Willard, Missouri, and son, William Joseph Knapp, of Versailles, MO.
Peggy lived a full life as a wonderful mother, homemaker and worked many years in the restaurant business where she excelled in baking pies and breads. She loved to cook, kept an immaculate house, and was highly skilled in candy making. At Christmas time, she would fill every surface in the house with homemade candy that she shared with her family and friends. She was famous for her Chocolate Black Walnut Fudge. Her famous fudge would be highly sought after at family reunions. Her greatest pleasures in later years were trips to Osawatomie to visit her family. She was devoted to her brothers and sisters and delighted in seeing them as often as she could. Her trips would usually end with a drive by of 1024 Chestnut, her childhood home and to see the railroad where her dad worked. She loved to visit the cemeteries of her son, parents, grandparents, and to see Dad and Larry as she would always say. She spent many hours making flowers for the annual trips to the cemetery. She embraced life no matter what hardships she endured. She loved to read, and was amazing at embracing technology, learning the computer in her later years. She loved Facebook where she kept current with her family and spent much time copying and making recipes she found on Pinterest. Most of all, she loved her family and instilled in her children strong values that have served them well. She has many cousins, nieces and nephews and friends who will miss her. She will be dearly missed and forever in our hearts.
