Joann Marcia Knapp passed away peacefully on August 11, 2021, from endometrial cancer in her home surrounded by her loved ones as she went to be home with Jesus. She was born on November 4, 1942, in Port Angeles, WA. For the next 18 years, she lived in an area known as Little Michigan, 10 miles east of Sequim, WA. She lived on a small farm with her parents, Allison and Georgia (Meyer) along with her 5 siblings. She loved being outdoors and preferred to do the outside chores, like chopping wood, over the household ones. She was a member of a 4-H Club during her youth, attended school in Sequim and graduated in 1960, voted the most athletic girl in her class. She worked at the Gardiner Store for several years during high school and attended Gardiner Community Church. In November of 1960, she joined the US Army Women’s Corp for 3 years. She received training at Ft. McClellan, AL, and Ft. Gordon, GA. She was stationed at Ft. Bragg, NC, and then Heidelberg, Germany where she served as a coder of classified and unclassified information.

While in Germany, she married David W. Shepherd from New York City. She was blessed with 3 daughters, Monica, Tara, and Alison. They eventually settled in Lake McMurray, WA where she resided for 45 years until she moved into her current home in Mt. Vernon in 2016. In 1973 she received a grant to go to Skagit Valley College and graduated with 2 Associate Degrees. After her marriage dissolved, she began working at Conway School as a paraeducator where she worked for 30 years serving many generations of families and giving out lots of hugs during playground duty.

She was introduced to Jesus and began following His ways and was baptized in 1985. In 2005 she went on her first mission trip with her church, which significantly impacted her spiritual and emotional life, and from then on was filled with steadfast love, peace, and joy, and freedom.

Joann loved to serve the Lord by helping others, especially in practical ways.  She was known to be a good listener,  and her door was always open to share a laugh, a meal, or sew together. She loved to share books with children and had a ‘Free Library’ box outside her home, delighting when children would sit on the bench and find a new treasure of a book. The art of quilting was her main passion and many friends and family benefited from her beautiful skills. Family quilting days were a highlight as well as being a part of her beloved church quilting group, the Bethany Covenant Pinheads, who make and donate quilts to people in need. She also made quilts to help raise funds or donate to many organizations. Joann believed in being part of a community and she volunteered her time to numerous organizations such as Conway School, serving as founding its PSE scholarship program, getting its cougar mascot carved, coaching girls softball, and refereeing volleyball games. She served for several years of the President of Lake McMurray's Firehall Women’s Auxillary to help raise funds for the firefighters and community.

She is survived by her daughters Monica (Brian) Wollaston, Tara (Eric) Brown, Alison (Keith) Croze, her beloved grandchildren, Alex Wollaston, Jon (Kelsey) Brown, Riley Brown, Evan Brown, Natalie (Jason) Eggold, Roarke Croze, Luke Croze, and John Croze; her siblings, Janet Emerson, Eileen Martin,  Delbert “Bud” (Shelley) Knapp; and several nieces, nephews, and countless family, and friends. She is preceded in death by her parents, Allison and Georgia (Meyer) Knapp, and brothers, Robert “Bob” Knapp and Donald Knapp.

A private memorial was held on September 18, 2021, but we will record it and share the link here. She is buried at Gardiner Cemetery in Sequim, WA.  In lieu of flowers, we recommend a donation of your time or finances to your favorite charity or one of Joann’s: Heifer International, Habitat for Humanity, Skagit Friendship House (Mt. Vernon), Bethany Covenant Church Pinheads (Mt. Vernon), New Earth Recovery (Mt. Vernon), Growing Veterans Farm (Lynden, WA), Youth Dynamics (Burlington, WA).

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