Toyoko (Jeanie) Hirai Matsuda Knigge, age 83, passed away on Friday, May 31, 2013 at Sanford Health Hospital, Sioux Falls.
A memorial service was held Tuesday evening, June 4 in Woonsocket. The burial will be at a later date in the Black Hills National Cemetery in Sturgis, where she will join her late husband, Wallace R. (Bob) Knigge.
Jeanie was born Aug. 17, 1929 in Osaka, Japan. She worked at the Army hospital where she met Bob while he was on a tour of duty, and they married on April 27, 1954. While Bob was in the service, they moved and lived in Missouri, Texas and North Carolina before settling in Woonsocket in 1970.
Jeanie worked at Van Dyke’s and the nursing homes in Storla and Woonsocket for many years. One of her proudest accomplishments was receiving her CNA, Certified Nursing Assistant.
Jeanie was a devout Buddhist, who believed in the power of prayer and was always kind and compassionate in making changes in her life as part of her own human revolution. She believed that chanting the words “Nam-myoho-renge-kyo” would bring good fortune to her life and continually encouraged her family to “never give up.” When things were not going so well, she would say that “winter always turns to spring.”
Her friends and family will always remember her as a soft-spoken, kind, caring person who thought about her family and friends before herself. She was affectionately known as “Mama-san” by her family. She loved to garden, make pottery, play Bingo and gave a new meaning to the words “let’s go shopping.” The two most important things in her life were her family and her religious practice, and her greatest joys were getting together for family gatherings and participating in her Buddhist meetings.
She is survived by her four children, Donna (Dihl) Bult, Sioux Falls, Robert “Bobby” (Lynette) Knigge, Redfield, David Knigge, Redfield, and Kevin (Sharon) Knigge, Las Vegas, Nev.; her sister, Mary Schley, Laurel, Md.; her brothers, Tsunemitsu (Kimiko) Matsuda, Kobe City, Japan, Tatsuo (and wife) Matsuda, Tochigi-Ken, Japan, and Miyuki (Michiko) Matsuda, Osaka City, Japan; her sisters-in-law, Ila Burke, Burnsville, Minn., and Norma Knigge, Sioux Falls; brother-in-law, Charlie (Myrna) Knigge, Woonsocket; 17 grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband.
-
Weather
Failure notice from provider:
Connection Error:http_request_failedUpcoming Events
December 2023 SSunday MMonday TTuesday WWednesday TThursday FFriday SSaturday 26November 26, 2023 27November 27, 2023 28November 28, 2023 29November 29, 2023 30November 30, 2023 1December 1, 2023 2December 2, 2023 3December 3, 2023 4December 4, 2023 5December 5, 2023 6December 6, 2023 7December 7, 2023 8December 8, 2023 9December 9, 2023 10December 10, 2023 11December 11, 2023 12December 12, 2023 13December 13, 2023 14December 14, 2023 15December 15, 2023 16December 16, 2023 17December 17, 2023 18December 18, 2023 19December 19, 2023 20December 20, 2023 21December 21, 2023 22December 22, 2023 23December 23, 2023 24December 24, 2023 25December 25, 2023 26December 26, 2023 27December 27, 2023 28December 28, 2023 29December 29, 2023 30December 30, 2023 31December 31, 2023 1January 1, 2024 2January 2, 2024 3January 3, 2024 4January 4, 2024 5January 5, 2024 6January 6, 2024 -
Recent Posts
Contact Us
Archives
Tweet