Location: [unknown]
Surname/tag: Knopf
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Obituaries for Milton and Loraine Knopf
Obituary - Milton Knopf
The following text was provided by the family to the funeral home.
Milton L. Knopf (1918 - 2008)
Milton L. Knopf was born a twin to Reverend Albert and Kate Knopf in Southey, Saskatchewan, Canada on April 17, 1918. Rev. Knopf took a church in Cleveland, Ohio, when Milton was 5 years old. From there, they moved to Cottonwood, Texas; Dillon, Kansas; and to Ingersoll, Oklahoma. Milton graduated from highschool in Oklahoma in 1935.
Milton joined the National Guard there, and when WWII started, he transferred to the Air Force. He was an airplane mechanic and taught engine overhaul at the air base in Lincoln, Nebraska.
He met Loraine at the First Baptist Church in Lincoln. Loraine thought that any soldier that would leave the base on Sunday night and go to church must be worth something. They were married October 7, 1943, at the Second Baptist Church in Lincoln.
Their first child, Judy, was born right after his discharge. (1945) He was stationed at Lowry Field at this time. At Lowry he had to fly on the first test flight after an engine was repaired. This gave him several frightening experiences and made him never want to fly again. After the war, Milton returned to Oklahoma to his old job at the Cherokee Power Plant. Not liking Oklahoma, he and Loraine came back to Denver where Milton became an optician.
Three years later he bought a farm near Ft. Collins - milk cows, turkeys, sugar beets. Their second child, Dennis, was born when they lived here (1950). A big hail storm wiped them out and they moved to Lincoln, where they lived with Lorain’s parents. Here he worked for Elgin Watch Co. for a year or so. They moved to Wheat Ridge, Colorado in 1955. He worked in the optical business for 20 years where they raised their 2 children.
In 1964 he decided to semi-retire and bought 320 acres of land east of Aurora, 3 miles south of Bennett, Colorado. He bought a herd of cattle and some machinery and began farming. In 1983, he retired again and moved back to Denver.
Milton was active in Berkeley Baptist Church, being a Deacon, President of the Sunday School class and singing in the choir. He was also on the Advisory Board and contributed many times to the welfare of Berkeley Baptist Church.
He passed away September 6, 2008 and leaves his wife, Loraine, his daughter Judy (Dave), his son, Dennis (Gloria) and his granddaughter, Jennifer.
Funeral Service, Thursday, September 11, 2008 at 10:00 A.M. at Alameda Baptist Church at Eaton Terrace, 333 S. Eaton Street, Lakewood, Colorado.
Interment: Crown Hill Cemetery, Wheat Ridge, CO
Obituary - Loraine Knopf
The following text was provided by the family to the funeral home.
Loraine Rose Knopf ()1921-2010
Funeral Service held, Thursday, September 16 at 10AM, Alameda Baptist Church at
Eaton St., Lakewood, CO. Interment Crown Hill Cemetery.
Loraine Rose Hohnstein was born to Conrad Hohnstein and Armina Carriker, December 19, 1921, in Harvard, Nebraska. She attended Elliot Elementary School, Whittier Junior High and graduated from Lincoln High in 1939. She attended Nebraska University until World War II broke out. Loraine worked for Cushman Motor Works, inspecting firing pins for bomb shells during the War period.
She met Milton at the First Baptist Church in Lincoln. They were married October 7, 1943, at the Second Baptist Church in Lincoln, and they were married 65 years. Their first child, Judy, was born right after his discharge from the Air Force (1945).
Milton & Loraine moved to Oklahoma after the war so he could return to his old job at the power plant. Not liking Oklahoma, they moved to Denver. Three years later they bought a farm near Fort Collins. Their son, Dennis, was born when they lived here (1950).
A hail storm wiped them out and they moved to Lincoln, where they lived with Loraine's parents. They stayed a year or so before moving back to Wheat Ridge, colorado, in 1955.
Loraine worked for Mode-O-Day in downtown Denver, then for Miller Stockman in Westminster. In 1964, they bought a farm east of Aurora, 3 miles south of Bennett, Colorado. Driving to work from their farm in Bennett became quite a task so she began teaching 4th grade at Bennett grade school. They stayed on the farm for 20 years. They retired in 1983 and moved to Lakewood.
Loraine was active in Berkeley Baptist Church for many years. She directed two children's choirs, sang in the choir herself and was a deacon in the church at this time. She became a member of the Alameda Baptist Church in 2008, when she was living at Eaton Terrace. Some of her hobbies were stereo photography, art, crafts, fishing, camping, and traveling.
Loraine passed away September 6, 2010 at age 88, and leaves her daughter Judy (Dave), her son Dennis (Gloria) and her granddaughter, Jennifer.
Biographical Sketch of Milton & Loraine
The following was written in Oct 1993, in collaboration with Milton and Loraine, as an homage to the couple on the occasion of the 50th anniversary celebration of their marriage.
We are gathered here together to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of Milton & Loraine Knopf. I'm their son-in-law, a somewhat neutral observer, and I have been asked to relate to you the story of this accomplishment, and how it was achieved. It is a story of love and working together, of good times and hard times. And as you will see, the Baptist church, in whose rooms we are celebrating this passage, has played a pivotal role in their lives.
The story of Milton and Loraine Knopf began in the dark and evil times of World War II. Every dark cloud of tribulation has some silver lining, and one of the side effects of the war effort was that people were moving all over the country. Thus it was that the handsome young preacher's son from Oklahoma and the pretty carpenter's daughter from Nebraska were both living in Lincoln, Nebraska in June of 1943.
Milton was in the Air Corps as an aircraft mechanic stationed in Lincoln. He met Loraine at the young people's meeting at the First Baptist Church in Lincoln, which he attended with a buddy from the Air Corps. There seems to have been a few sparks and a little magic between the two of them. Loraine still suspects that Milton was really more interested in her saxophone than he was in her; however, the result of all this is that they were joined together in holy matrimony on the 7th of October 1943, in the Second Baptist Church in Lincoln.
The war took no note of this happy event and continued to drag on. Milton was transferred to Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, taking his new bride with him. Thus began a long and still lasting relationship with the state of Colorado.
The war finally ground to an end in late 1945, and while Milton was waiting for his discharge, the young Knopf family was blessed with the birth of their daughter. Judy was born in Lincoln where Loraine had gone to be with her parents for the birth. As soon as mother and daughter were fit to travel and Milton had his discharge, they moved to Cherokee, Oklahoma, where Milton worked as an operator in the power plant. But the Knopfs had caught the Colorado fever, and Oklahoma temperatures did not agree with them. They were soon back in beautiful Colorado, where Milton started an apprenticeship as an optical grinder with Symond and Atkinson Optical in downtown Denver.
1950 was a year of new venture for the Knopfs. Agriculture had always been in Milton's blood and the decision was made to go farming. They bought an 80-acre farm near Fort Collins on a GI loan, and Milton and Loraine set about raising sugar beets, turkeys and dairy cows. In the midst of this change, 5-year-old Judy received a bouncing baby brother. Dennis was born just in time to move to the farmstead with the rest of the family.
But this rural idyll was only to last for three years. In 1953, a tornado accompanied by heavy hail, totally destroyed their crops and many of the windows in their little house. The young family was financially ruined. It is a tribute to their mutual love and support and to their faith, that Milton and Loraine were able to pick their lives up by the bootstraps and start again to provide for the family's future.
They spent a year recuperating in Lincoln with Loraine's parents, during which time Milton found work at the Elgin Watch Company. Finally, they were able to sell the Fort Collins land and move back to Denver, where Milton went back to work as an optician. He later sold real estate and worked as a property tax appraiser. Loraine contributed to the finances by working at Mode-O-Day and Miller Stockman.
In addition to all this hard work, they managed, with considerable skill, to raise their two children. During this time, they were members of the Berkeley Baptist Church, where they were active in the "builders" Sunday School class, sang in the choir, and were appointed Deacon and Deaconess. They also extended their love to Loraine's widowed mother, who lived happily with Milton and Loraine for 25 years until shortly before her death in 1987.
Farming kept calling to Milton, and in 1964 the Knopfs decided to buy a 320-acre dryland farm south of Bennett and "semi-retire." They moved permanently to the farm a few years later. Milton worked the land, and Loraine worked for Miller Stockman and later for the Bennett schools.
They farmed for 19 years, until, in 1983, they took a well-earned retirement from the farm and moved back to Denver. They again became members of the Berkeley Baptist Church. Their life was further brightened in 1984 by the birth of their granddaughter, Jennifer.
It seems to me that the Knopfs are enjoying their retirement, with trips around the country and the world, visiting relatives and seeing the sights. They enjoy forays into the mountains and elsewhere chasing the elusive trout, and they enjoy their many activities with people from their church and with their family. Perhaps more importantly as we celebrate this 50th anniversary of their marriage, they continue to enjoy each other.
The Knopfs have weathered good times and bad times together, tried new things, mastered difficult challenges, and avoided discord and strife. They have raised two well balanced and successful children and have secured their own moderate financial well being. Milton and Loraine's marriage serves for me as an excellent model of how to do it right, a marriage relationship to which to aspire. I hope you will agree with me and join me in wishing them the heartiest congratulations on their 50th anniversary.
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