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Mary Lou Knopp, 75, of Cheyenne, died on April 19, 2020, in Cheyenne.
Born Mary Lourdes Scranton on April 26, 1944, in Powell to Al and Esther Scranton, she attended Powell public schools graduating as a proud Powell Panther in 1962.
While in high school she played clarinet in the band, enjoyed developing pictures for photography class and discovered a love of swimming. She passed on her love of swimming to her children, taking them for swim lessons and encouraging her grandchildren to swim as well. She spoke often of growing up in Powell and Heart Mountain, one of the most beautiful places on Earth.
After high school she moved to Billings, Montana, where she graduated from beautician school and later worked as a beautician. She had many fond memories of riding around town in her friend Cheryl’s Model A and would make people laugh with her imitation of the “Aaoogha” sound the car horn made.
She married Marvin Knopp on Aug. 18, 1965, in Billings. They later moved to Denver, Colorado, and then to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where she lived until her death. She was a typical ‘50s era teenager, complete with bobby socks. She and her friends would often gather in their basements to play and dance to their 45 RPM records. Her favorite musician of all time was Elvis Presley and she was able to see one of his last concerts in one of her favorite places, the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Christmas time would see Mary Lou listening to Elvis, Doris Day, and Johnny Mathis while she decorated the tree, sprayed snow stencils on the windows, and baked mountains of amazing goodies to share with friends and families. She passed this love of baking and Christmas on to her daughter and would often give tips of how to keep the goodies fresh until they could be delivered and enjoyed. She also went out of her way to find that “you can’t live without this” gift to make many occasions even more special.
She spent many years canning in the fall, a tradition passed down from her mom and grandmother, and one that was enjoyed by many, many family members and friends. After she was done canning, one of her favorite things was to go for a drive to see the fall leaves. Her children remember these drives fondly as they were allowed to sit in the back of the truck on the wheel wells and would laugh as they spotted various animals and tried to play the “alphabet” game with very few road signs.
Her greatest delight though was her four grandchildren: Josh, Heather, Rachel, and Abby. She spent many hours rocking them to sleep as babies, singing some of her favorite songs, and proudly spoke about them to everyone she met.
She quietly helped many people throughout her life, giving advice and support where she felt it would help the most. She was an amazing prayer warrior with a deep love of God and will be a deeply missed by her family and friends.
She is survived by her children, Gordon Knopp (Leah) and Cherie Kreiling (Danny); grandchildren Josh Kreiling (Rachel), Heather Kreiling Ferkel (David), Rachel and Abby Knopp; brothers, Richard Scranton (Betty) and Dana Scranton (Carol); her lifelong friend and honorary aunt to her children, Irene Horn; sister and brothers-in-law, as well as many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews and great-great nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Marvin; and their infant son, Timothy David.
Due to the current pandemic situation, a full memorial service will be held at a later date. The family is requesting that memorials in honor of Mary Lou be sent to the Salvation Army.
