Mary Knipfer

Mary McDuffie Knipfer was welcomed into the arms of Jesus on June 26, 2021 shortly after noon while surrounded by her husband, daughters, and The Rev. Dr. Donald J. Wilton.  It was the end of her four-and-a-half-year battle with cancer during which she willingly demonstrated that Christ’s grace was sufficient for her, and his power was made perfect in her weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Mary was born 68 years ago on June 12, 1953, in Newark, NJ to Glen Larin and Harriet Davis McDuffie.  After just a few months the family moved to Hampton, GA during which the toddler met a neighbor’s “Lassie” lookalike collie that followed her around everywhere and ignited a life-long love of animals.

Most of Mary’s childhood was spent in Dallas and later Houston, Texas with her only brother Phil.  A self-proclaimed tomboy, she spent many long days playing kickball, jumping rope, climbing trees, and enjoying the outdoors with Phil and other neighborhood cohorts.  At Memorial High School in Houston, she joined the Markettes dance team with her life-long friends Ouida Bartley and Leslie Murphy.  During those years she also had the unique opportunity to travel with AMIGOS, a vaccination campaign group, to Guatemala and Honduras with Sarah Harrison, another life-long friend.

Mary went to Emory University for college where she majored in biology and met her husband Mark while in separate singing groups during a combined Christmas performance.  Standing behind her, Mark teased that he was going to set fire to her waist-length hair with a candle.  They hit it off as friends and each seemed to have an uncanny sense of knowing what the other was thinking to the point of often completing each other’s thoughts and sentences.  Mark and Mary started dating and were engaged shortly before the end of her senior year in college following an unplanned and less than earth-shattering proposal from Mark after she started talking about attending grad school at Stanford. (“Well, I thought… What if we could get married?”)

Her faith in the young medical student, however, was rewarded with 46 loving years together.  Her greatest desire at a young age was to be a mother, and she was gifted with three daughters that filled that longing in her heart.  Family was of immense importance to Mary and attempts to return to school several times while her girls were still at home were fraught with the strain of not being able to spend enough time with her family, and ultimately further education was put on hold.

Mary was an avid reader and a life-long learner, though.  She knew the name of nearly every creature or growing thing she encountered, and she was a formidable Jeopardy contestant from the comfort of her den chair.  She returned to school after her children had all left the nest where she completed a life-long goal of earning her nursing degree magna cum laude, and Mark was blessed to have her work with him at his practice.

Her husband also indulged her love for animals throughout their years together by allowing her numerous pets including at different times twenty-something sheep, two donkeys, a horse, more than a dozen cats, and seven dogs.  Her last dog, Skip, particularly brought her great joy and held a special place in her heart.  She also volunteered at the Spartanburg Humane Society while her children were young and went to great lengths to rear several motherless baby birds and squirrels and rehabilitate injured rabbits.

Mary loved music.  She played guitar and piano by ear and could often be found singing loudly at home or in the car.  Her daughters think she also was one of the best tune whistlers you have ever heard!

She had the privilege to follow other interests as well and earned a Master Gardener certificate and completed the Certified Beekeeper course with her husband.  Mary also studied with several teachers and worked to train her beloved border collie Skip to herd sheep.

Travel was an activity that Mary and Mark delighted in together after their children had mostly left home.  Throughout the years they took mission trips to Croatia, Serbia, Haiti, and Brazil where they met Paulo Taveira a translator and young college student that Mark and Mary encouraged and continue to mentor.  They also traveled for enjoyment to several places including Hong Kong and China, Italy (Tuscany, Portofino, Venice, Rome), the Grand Canyon, and Napa Valley.  They made two special trips to Colonsay, the Isle of Skye, and Edinburgh in Scotland to explore Mary’s Scottish roots where she had the opportunity to take a lesson with well-known border collie trainer Julie Hill.  Yearly beach trips with daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren brought great enjoyment every summer.  Her favorite trips, however, were to the Holy Land where she was able to see where Christ her Savior had walked, taught, and was crucified for her sins.

Mary considered her love for Christ of primary importance in her life, and it was her greatest desire to live a life pleasing to Him.  A member of First Baptist Spartanburg for nearly 30 years, she sang in choir, led a girls’ discipleship group, and participated in several youth mission trips to Kentucky.  On other fronts, she was a volunteer counselor at the Carolina Pregnancy Center in Spartanburg, delivered Mobile Meals to home-bound seniors, and both led and participated in Bible Study Fellowship groups.

Her life verse Romans 8:28 (“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose”) greatly influenced how she saw the world and the circumstances that affected her.  During her worst days, Mary was a testimony of Isaiah 26:3, “You [the Lord] keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you.”  Her faith in God never wavered in the difficult, trying weeks leading up to her home going.  It gave her great courage to know that God had already determined in eternity past “the days that were formed for [her]” (Psalm 139:16).

Most who knew her will remember Mary for her warm smile and great gift of encouragement.  Even in her uncomfortable times, she always had a positive outlook and continually looked for praise-worthy qualities in those around her.  She had a God-given ability to lift people up in a way that made them feel like they could conquer anything.  She prayed consistently and earnestly for others.

She spent the last few weeks of her life constantly surrounded by wonderful friends and family at her bedside.  Though she may not have been able to say much during some of those last days, she was, and her family is, infinitely grateful to those friends for the hours they sacrificed and the comfort they gave to her during this difficult time.  Mary was also particularly appreciative of chemotherapy nurse Marie Earle who continually boosted her spirits during the many rounds of chemotherapy she underwent.  To the many more nurses, doctors, hospice workers, home health workers, and personal friends who reached out to the family or assisted Mary in countless ways, Mary’s family is forever grateful for your service and friendship.

Mary is preceded in death by parents Glen Larin and Harriet Davis McDuffie. She leaves behind Mark, her beloved soulmate; her daughters Laura Brand (Scott), Shannon Knight, and Erin America (Adam) whom she considered the flowers in her garden; a treasured brother Phil McDuffie (Ellen) of Vermont; close cousins Paula Harris (Rusty) of Florida and Harriet Giles of Alabama; grandchildren Amber, Tearston, Dalton, Kyden, Drew, Will, Ben, Gracelyn, and Amelia whom she considered the delights of her life; sisters-in-law Diane Grant (Bob) and Denise Knipfer of Georgia; a brother-in-law Dan Knipfer (Joyce) also of Georgia; six nieces and nephews; a most beloved friend and mentor Leila Stancil of Mount Pleasant; Paulo Taveira, her son in the faith; and Skip, her dog of a lifetime.

A Celebration of her life will be held on Tuesday, June 29, 2021 with a visitation from 2:30 – 4:00 PM followed by a service at 4:30 PM at First Baptist Church Spartanburg, 250 E. Main Street, Spartanburg, SC 29306, conducted by The Rev. Dr. Donald J. Wilton. After the service, Mary will be interred in the Westwood Memorial Gardens, 6101 Reidville Road, Moore, SC 29369.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Carolina Pregnancy Center, P.O. Box 5364, Spartanburg, SC 29304, First Baptist Spartanburg General Missions Offering, 250 E. Main Street, Spartanburg, SC 29306, Samaritan’s Purse, P.O. Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607, or Spartanburg Humane Society, 150 Dexter Road, Spartanburg, SC 29303.

Floyd’s North Church Street Chapel