Obituary of Lucille Mary Knapp

Lucille was born in New York City on December 19, 1931 to Mary (Caruso) and Phillip Melora. She met Joseph Knapp, her husband of 52 years, in 1949 at Bell Telephone Company where she worked as an operator.  The two fell in love and married one year later on April 1 - a fitting date for the two that joked they were “fools in love.”

Lucille and Joe lived in New Milford, New Jersey for over 60 years where they raised their four children Robert, Carol, Linda and Christine.  Lucille was a loving mother and the quintessential depiction of someone who made a house a home.  She was devoted to canning and cooking from Joe’s amazing garden.   Her recipes are generational favorites that graced the table at various family functions.  The hosting perk was having automatic claim to whatever scraps were left of her apple pie, pumpkin pie or pizzelle waffles.

They say everyone has that one friend or family member that warms the room; if you knew Lucille, guarantee she was that person to you.  She remembered every birthday, anniversary and special occasion, and closed out every call with the most endearing “I love you baby, thanks for calling.” 

She nurtured her relationships and had a powerful inner circle of friends.  She spent many years with her gal pals at New Milford Elks club and the “Yak-Yak” club; the latter whom she credits as the “creation of group therapy”.  When Lucille moved to Brightview Independent Living in December 2017, her warm spirit made her the perfect candidate for the position of Welcome Ambassador.  From singing in their glee club and performing in plays, to playing games like Texas Hold’em, Rummikub, and Mahjong with friends, she would show incoming residents how to live their best senior lives! She was known as the Mayor of Brightview!

Lucille always led by example. In her younger years, she worked for Avon for extra spending money to provide for the family, and put her youngest daughter through college working as a bartender. She spent the latter part of her career-life across two family practices, as a medical assistant to Dr. Michael DeVita for more than 25 years and a billing assistant to Dr. Joseph Ciccarelli for 26 years.  She had a strong work ethic, but most importantly led by example to teach skills that money can’t buy - consistency, reliability and compassion for the patient.

While it is undeniable that Lucille was an incredible giver of attention, she also knew how to command attention. She knew when to “give it to you straight,” yet had a way of delivering uncomfortable truths making it feel like harmonic life lessons.   Fitting that music was her love language. 

At the early age of 3 she would entertain her parents’ friends by fine-tuning her vocals. Singing was a pastime that carried her into her final years - her acapella version of Esther Phillips, “I Wish You Love” at her 90^th birthday celebration was not to be missed. She would sing for anyone who asked but especially loved to sing for her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, singing sleep with “Nature Boy”.  Other hobbies included coloring and painting in her later years and creating ceramics in her earlier years.  She loved a good catch-up session on the phone and was never afraid to take her hand at new technology.

Lucille was the 90-plus-year-old mom on Facebook, the grandmother who could dish on the latest issue of People magazine, and the great grandmother who could FaceTime or text you back.  She was the cool aunt and godmother who would put back a stiff vodka gimlet and would travel to show up for any friend or extended friend’s special occasion.

Boy, did Lucille live.  Her secret to her youthful beauty?  Always washing your face at night to remove your makeup and applying cream before bed.   

She used to say, “to know me is to love me,” but for those who knew Lucille, it’s better said that “to have known her, is to have been loved.”

Lucille is predeceased by her husband of 52 years, Joseph Knapp, Her parents Mary and Phillip Melora, her in-laws, Bertha and Joseph Knapp, brother-in-law Kenneth Knapp, sister Angela Mazzola and brother Phillip Melora.

She is survived by many loving friends and family including her four children Robert Knapp, Carol Smith, Linda Guilbert, Christine Favata.

Daughter in law Betsy Knapp and sons in laws Ralph Smith, Jeff Guilbert, Len Favata

Grandchildren Katie Ontiveros (Anthony), Kevin (Josette) Guilbert, Kristen (Matt) Malek, Kyle Smith, Shannon Smith, Antonio Favata, Gianna Favata, Nicole Wright (Kevin), Felice Marcy (Todd), Samantha Knapp, Alexix Torjman(Jonathan)

Great grandchildren, Felix, Maeve, Jenny, Kevin, Nico, Maddie, Ryan, Gavin, Jackson, Hendrix

God Daughter and Niece Angela Cioffi, nephews Phillip and Frank Mazzola, great-nephews John Arnebold and Mario Viscardi (Jackie), great niece Michelle Lannon (Michael)

Best friends Connie Martino and Anne Altieo who will be thrilled to reunite with her.

Services for Lucille Knapp will be held on

Sunday, March 24

12:00 to 4:00 pm, Prayer Service at 3:30 pm

Tuttle Funeral Home

272 NJ-10, Randolph, NJ 

973-366-7400

In lieu of flowers donations can be made to:

The Kappa Kappa Gamma/JED Foundation for Mental Health:

https://jedfoundation.org/donate/

Alzheimer’s Association:

https://act.alz.org/site/Donation2?df_id=51079&51079.donation=form1&mfc_pref=T&utm_source=google&utm_medium=paidsearch&utm_campaign=giving_google&s_subsrc=giving_google&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwkuqvBhAQEiwA65XxQJxH22pV9z2r8mZTOewtb-0bKQOisXGcZegbmruvUWLy_lzrVOo2jhoCPFwQAvD_BwE