Mary Alice Knedler

Mary Alice (Smith) Knedler, age 75, of Middletown passed away Monday, September 14, 2020. Mary was born in Washington Court House, Ohio on September 6, 1945 to Clifford and Katherine (Penrod) Smith. She was the youngest of four siblings. She married Rex Leon Knedler on January 25, 1964 and remained happily married to him for the remainder of her life. Mary had a long professional life that included working at Diamond National, Culligan, and Miami University Middletown, which she retired from in 2006. She was also the owner/operator of Travel With Us, Inc. Her years with Travel With Us were filled with travel, new experiences, and fun. Her customers were not just customers but ended up being some of her very closest friends. She finally retired completely in 2019. However, Mary’s work was never done. She volunteered with Homemakers Circle 8 (later just Circle 8) from the late 1960’s until recently and held every office within the organization. Through Circle 8 she hosted holiday parties for adults with disabilities and children in need. She was also very active in The American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, after her brother-in-law died of cancer at a young age. She was responsible for her Relay for Life team raising tens of thousands of dollars for the ACS. She was a PTO leader and volunteer when her children were young and later was an extremely involved grandmother with Central Academy TEAM (a parent teacher organization). Through TEAM, she single-handedly purchased and organized over 3000 items every year at their annual Snowflake Village. This ensured that the students were able to purchase low-cost gifts for their family members, and she was known to cover the cost of items for kids who could not afford them. The monies raised benefited the students through field trips, COSI on Wheels, and classroom needs. Mary’s impact on her community continued after life, when she donated her corneas to be used to restore the sight of up to two people. Mary was preceded in death by her parents Clifford and Katherine Smith; her brother Harold Smith; her sister Jean Aby; her brother-in-law Frank Terrell; her in-laws Starley and Elizabeth (Barger) Knedler; and her nephew Harold Lee Smith. She is survived by her husband of 56 years, Rex; her sister Helen Terrell; her daughters Teresa Hyde, Leslie Knedler, and Sarah Allen (Thomas Allen); her grandchildren Katherine Wilson, Aaron Wesselman (Brittany Newman), Danny Wesselman, Audrey Allen and Jack Allen; her great grandchildren Jacoby, Colton, Kennedy and Lucas; many nieces and nephews; and special friends Judy Warner and Gloria Muthert. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, a drive-through visitation will be held in lieu of a funeral service. The drive-through visitation will take place Wednesday, September 23, 2020, 4-7 p.m. at Baker-Stevens-Parramore funeral home located at 6850 Roosevelt Avenue, Middletown, Ohio. Please remain in your vehicle and wear a mask for the safety of the family and funeral home employees. Family and friends will receive your condolences car-side. Donations can be made in Mary’s honor to The American Cancer Society or Central Academy TEAM. Everyone who knew Mary loved her. It is nearly impossible to find someone who has an unkind word to say about her. She believed in kindness, respect, and selflessness more than anything. But the two things she did not like were gladioli and Donald Trump. Please refrain from sending gladioli, and vote for Joe Biden in Mary’s memory on November 3, 2020.