Lucinda "Lu" Knarr

Lucinda (Lu) Gentry Knarr was born in Petersburg on the 25 ^th of April in 1960 to Bill and Jessie Gentry. Bill and Jessie (later known as Grandaddy and Jedi) raised Lu with the values of compassion, kindness, and the importance of family. Lu and her older sister, Betsy, were raised together in Colonial Heights where Lu made many lifelong friends. Lu then graduated from Virginia Tech in 1982 with a degree in Therapeutic Recreation. In October, Lu welcomed her beloved daughter, Sarah. Lu loved being a mother and an aunt to her niece and nephew, Little Jessie and Brandon. Lu and her daughter, Sarah, would always remain close and supportive of one another. Fun-filled Gentry family trips with their Tennessee relatives to North Myrtle Beach and going to Erwin, Tennessee to visit became a summer tradition for Lu and Sarah who loved being surrounded by family. Later, in 1990, Lu met and eventually married the love of her life, Neil Knarr. Together, Lu and Neil raised their two daughters, Sarah and Kristen, while enjoying dinners with friends, taking romantic weekend vacations, and cruises. During this time in her career, Lu became a licensed nursing home administrator by the State of Virginia. Lu served as an administrator from 1997 until retirement in 2018. She managed several nursing homes, but eventually opened Tyler’s Retreat at Iron Bridge. Lu served on committees of the Virginia Health Care Association and was a tutor to many who, themselves, aspired to become administrators. Lu was the Queen Bee of Tyler’s. She treated her employees and residents with respect and fairness. She sometimes personally provided individual workers financial aid and often showered her staff with gifts and meals. Lu and Neil would even drive in the dead of night in snowstorms to bring workers to and from work to keep her facilities fully staffed. Lu considered her employees her dear friends and part of her family. Lu retired in 2018 to care for her parents who both passed later that year.

Lu was a member of Highland United Methodist Church. She taught Sunday School and served on several executive committees. Lu became a grandmother to Nathanael Roberts in 2007 whom she lovingly called “kicky boy.” The number of grandchildren began to grow with the addition of Alex Bean and eventually Adelyn Bean. Katie and Ben Willis then added to round out the brood. Lu absolutely adored her grandchildren. She traveled to attend many of her grandchildren’s events such Nate’s and Alex’s sports games, taking Adelyn to dance lessons, and attended music recitals for both Katie and Ben. Lu would organize grandchildren movie nights where the grandchildren could stay up late with her watching movies and eating any junk food they wanted. Lu even went with the grandchildren on special trips such as Disney World or helped them boogie board or swam with them in the pool. Lu was the family’s matriarch as she was always organizing family birthdays and cooking entire holiday dinners for her loved ones to be with her and she always cooked and provided enough food for a small army while providing Tupperware containers for everyone to take home a meal.

Unfortunately, Lu was diagnosed with End-Stage Liver Disease in 2016 due to a genetic predisposition. Her condition had been kept relatively in check through medication, but her health began to decline in January due to complications of liver disease. Lu passed away peacefully, surrounded by her loving family on Monday, June 14, 2021, as a hospice resident at Tyler’s Retreat.

Lu’s generosity, friendly personality, and innate Southern charm made her an incredibly loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend. She will be sorely missed.

She is survived by her husband, Neil Knarr; daughter, Sarah Bean; step-daughter, Kristen Knarr Roberts (Dave Willis); sister, Betsy Gentry Luck (Hugh); great-aunt, Helen Gentry Saunders; grandchildren, Alex Bean, Adelyn Bean, Nate Roberts, Katie Willis and Ben Willis; niece, Jessica Luck DeDad; nephew, Brandon Luck (Jennifer); grandnieces, Aubrey Luck and Ava DeDad; grandnephews, Colson Luck and Garrett Luck; aunt, Sally Bradford Ramsey; uncle, Richard “Dick” Bradford; numerous cousins.

A Memorial Service will be held 3:00 p.m. Friday, June 18, 2021, at Highland United Methodist Church, 125 E. Westover Avenue, Colonial Heights, Virginia 23834.  The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at church. Arrangements by the Colonial Heights Chapel of the E. Alvin Small Funeral Homes & Crematory, 2033 Boulevard, Colonial Heights, Virginia 23834.  In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to ChildFund International,  P.O. Box 26507, Richmond, Virginia 23261-6507 or Highland United Methodist Church.  Condolences may be registered at www.ealvinsmall.com.