Sylvia May Knehans

Sylvia May Knehans passed away peacefully in her sleep on December 20, 2020 at the age of 82.

Sylvia was born on May 8, 1938 in Arapahoe, Nebraska, the daughter of Julius Schabacker and Lydia Schabacker (née Baese). Her family then moved to Owensville, Missouri. She was an inquisitive and somewhat rebellious child who wanted to learn about the world and who was encouraged in her efforts by her music teacher mother. An altar girl as a child, she later became an atheist though she continued to appreciate religious art and literature. She married her high school boyfriend Al Knehans Jr. on September 13, 1958 in Rosebud, Missouri. She encouraged Al to join the military as a way to enable experiencing and learning about the world and the people in it.

They lived throughout the US as well as abroad while Al was in the military. While in Okinawa, Sylvia learned Japanese and aspects of the local culture. Similarly, five years in Germany led her to a deep appreciation of German culture and her family’s roots. She also travelled with family during this time to Greece, Spain, England, Scotland, the Netherlands, Morocco, and Italy. Following Al’s discharge from active service, Sylvia and her family settled in Prince William County, Virginia, where she remained for the rest of her life. After their retirement, Sylvia and Al travelled throughout the world, including Alaska, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, New England, Spain, Portugal, and
Morocco.

Sylvia was known by all to be kind and generous, as well as strong and determined. She loved working in her garden and visiting with friends and relatives. She was an avid music listener; some of her favorites included Emmylou Harris, Nick Cave, Bob Dylan, Paul Robeson, Nico Mbarga, and Mr. Fondle. A voracious reader all of her life, she had a library of many hundreds of books. Sylvia leaves behind many legacies. Always committed to community involvement, she volunteered for years at ACTS Food Bank of Dumfries, Virginia. She was a supporter of the civil rights movement as a youth and one of her last public activities was to attend a local Black Lives Matter demonstration in her wheelchair. Inspired by the TV show “Roots,” she spent many years researching her family tree back to the early 1600s until she exhausted all available records. Countless relatives were discovered through this research and many more benefitted in some way.

One of her strongest legacies is the inspiration she provided for so many women, both relatives and friends, who have known her over the years. To them, she was a living example of a knowledgable and strong-willed woman unafraid to stand up for what she believed in. Finally, no words can express what she meant to her children. No one could have ever been more lucky than to be her child.

Sylvia is survived by her two sons, Greg Knehans of Greensboro, North Carolina and Brian Knehans of Kansas City, Kansas; grandchildren Katie and Derek of Salem, Oregon; niece Becky Woolery of Owensville, Missouri; along with other relatives and more friends than could be counted. She will be sorely missed by all that knew and loved her. Due to the ongoing Covid pandemic, a service will not be held at this time. It is hoped that once it is safe there will be an informal, secular memorial at her residence, perhaps in the early Spring.