Ruby Elaine Knope

1928 - 2025

Ruby Elaine (Jackson) Knope, 96, of La Crosse, Indiana, passed away peacefully, March 15, 2025. She has been a resident of the La Crosse area for the past 78 years. She was born on Sept. 4, 1928, in Kouts, Indiana. The daughter of the late Ora Walter "Buck" Jackson and Effie Brummitt (Williams) Jackson.

Ruby was a 1946 graduate of Kouts High School; she graduated with honors and was a cheerleader and the female athlete of 1945 and 1946.

On Sept. 27, 1947, Ruby married Harold E. Knope at the St. John's Lutheran Church in La Crosse, Indiana. He preceded her in death on Dec. 21, 2017, after 70 years of marriage. After raising their two sons on a farm west of La Crosse and their sons having joined the Marines and Navy/Army after high school, Ruby decided to work outside of the home.

She worked as an office manager bookkeeper for Reese Business Insurance and The Regional News for 16 years. She then moved on to employment with the First Citizens Bank (Horizon). She obtained the position of bank secretary and teller, and she was also a notary. She retired from the bank in 1989.

She was very proud that she and Harold were a five-generation couple. They had three great-great-grandkids before the Good Lord called Harold home and now, she has four great-great-grandkids.

She loved to garden with flowers and vegetables. She was also very good at cooking, baking and preserving the produce from her garden. She and Harold also did some traveling, they made it to Europe in the late 1960s and to Asia in the late 1970s. They also loved to travel in the fall to see the colors. She was an avid sports fan, mainly pro basketball.

Daily prayer was her strength and guide in life. She was preceded in death by her son, Kenneth W. Knope; grandson, Timothy R. Knope; sister, Betty (Jackson) Jones; two brothers, Duane and Ralph Jackson; and daughter-in-law, Yoshiko Knope. She is survived by her son, James Knope; grandkids, Alice (Tony) Martin, Jeff Knope and Steve (Brandy) Knope; four great-grandkids, Kelcey (Jordan) Clapp, Noah (Madeline) Martin, Jonah Martin and Willow Knope; and four great-great-grandkids, Emilia, Oliver, Hazel and Ruby Clapp.

Viewing will be at Kosanke Funeral Home, 309 S. Main St., Kouts, Indiana, on Sunday, March 23, 2025, from 1 to 3 p.m. Funeral service will be Monday, March 24, 2025, 11 a.m. at St John's Lutheran Church, 301 N. Washington St., La Crosse, Indiana, preceded by visitation 10 to 11 a.m., with Rev. Joel S. Zipay officiating. Burial will follow at Graceland Cemetery, Valparaiso.

Memorials may be made to St John's Lutheran Church in La Crosse, Indiana.