Rita E. Knapp

Dear Knapp Family,

We are very sorry for the loss of your mom and dad, Chuck & Rita. We were neighbors uphill at 72nd & Hawthorne for several years & kept in touch through Christmas letters since we moved in 1997. We spent many hours talking gardening over the fence! They were wonderful, kind, helpful and generous neighbors and friends.

You are in our prayers.

Dale & Dennis Drew
Boise, Idaho

Dear Kristan and family, Bill and I are so sorry to hear both your parents have died. They were a kind and caring couple, very supportive of the gay and lesbian community and of us when the 1986 PFLAG Convention was held in Portland. We have very fond memories of them both.

Dear Tim, Kristen, Andrew, Jonathan,
I have great memories of all of you when I worked at Menucha during high-school and beyond. Your parents were wonderful to me and all the staff there. We had some great times and I learned a how lot about hard work and good fun - they can be combined! My Mom, Jeanie Driver, and I extend our condolences to your all.

I met Rita and Chuck after my husband died and will never forget their sensitivity and kindness as we arranged for his memorial in the Rhododendron Garden. Reading her obituary, I was struck by her humility, and felt fortunate that my life had been touched by this wonderful woman.

Dear Kristan and family, I am so sorry for your loss. Your parents were the most remarkable and kind people. I met them at a speaking engagement in the late 1970s or perhaps early '80s on lesbian/gay issues. I was one of the speakers and I think they had convened the religious group we were talking to. It's impossible to say what it meant at that time to have an older heterosexual couple be so supportive of gay rights and so personally warm. They are a model for all of us of what it means to...

I will always remember pinch-hitting for the Knapps at Menucha when while they attended conferences. What an adventure to observe the original garden paths being uncovered. What a gift she and Charles gave First Presby in the uncovering of the Meir estate. Marlin and I loved your whole family. Our condolences.

The world has lost the most kind and gracious couple I've ever known. My condolences to their children.