Lorraine Knuth

Lorraine Gertrude Knuth (nee Kruse) passed away on Friday afternoon, 15 October 2021, after a brief stay at Rose Arbor hospice. A fine homemaker, she also was very active in a wide range of volunteer activities, for which she received the "Governor George Romney Lifetime Achievement Award" in 2015. At the ceremony, Governor Snyder noted how her service was consistently humble, never flashy, always focused on the needs of others. She had great compassion for those suffering from health issues, having survived three different cancers and multiple major surgeries. Patients at Bronson Hospital and Allegan Hospital welcomed her visits for over 30 years. A faithful member of the Lutheran church, she sang hymns and played keyboards around the house well into her 90's. She frequently amused her family by absentmindedly playing "O Holy Night" followed by "Roll Out the Barrel", a testimony to both her religious roots and the German traditions with which she was raised. She enjoyed her husband Max's long involvement with the Kalamazoo Bagpipe Band, except when it was time for the haggis. She was an avid traveler, frequently on outings with her friends in the "GEMS" group. Lori treasured her extended family, especially her nieces and nephews, and relished the annual reunions and special events with "The Kruse Clan", of which she was the last surviving Great Generation member. She volunteered for projects at the Hopkins United Methodist church well into her 90's, and enjoyed the fellowship with its members. Lori was born at home 05 January 1926 in Detroit, MI, graduated from Denby high school and worked for the U.S. government during WW II and in a dental practice afterwards. She married Max Knuth on 22 May 1954 and they moved to the corner of Milham and Westnedge in Portage, when the present-day malls and retail space were still farmland. They built her dream house in the first Colony Woods subdivision in Texas Corners, and she promptly became a 4-H leader. They moved to the Knuth family farm in Hopkins in the mid-1990's and she enjoyed many aspects of rural life – dirt roads excepted. Lorraine was preceded in death by her parents, Harold and Mabel Kruse, and Harold's second wife Alice, who he married after becoming a widower in the 1940's. She was married to Max for 52 years, and cared for him during the long illness leading to his death in 2006. She received excellent care and companionship in her home from her daughter and son-in-law, Kirstin and Tadd Heft. Her sons and daughters-in-law, Mark & Kim Knuth and Dean & Jane Knuth, and her granddaughters, Megan Heft, Rachel Kolkman (Zach) and Martha Knuth & Ellen Radke (Michael), were a delight to Lori, as she was to them. They will never be spoiled as thoroughly by anyone ever again. Lori found meaning and fulfillment in helping others, and her joy in serving was reciprocated by a wide variety of long-standing friendships. She greeted new experiences with an authentic and guileless sense of wonder – at least until the age of smart phones. She was known for decades of sending cards and notes to friends and people on her prayer list, and would be pleased and honored to have you do the same to someone that you know needs it. Lorraine's cremains were interred in Maplewood Cemetery by immediate family members. A memorial celebration for her will occur in spring 2022, when weather and pandemic conditions allow for a safe outdoor gathering. Services entrusted to Langeland Family Funeral Homes Burial & Cremation Services, 3926 S. 9th Street, Kalamazoo, MI 49009. To view Lorraine's personalized web page, please visit https://www.langelands.com