Alberta May Knapp Rathbun, 90, died in Fort Wayne, Ind., on Sept. 22, 2021. She was born in Delhi, daughter of Kenneth Brinckerhoff Knapp and Wanetta Pearl Liddle Knapp Veen.
Alberta was married for 56 years to John Howard Rathbun of Unadilla. She fulfilled her youthful ambition to become a wife and a mother when her daughter Gail Anne (Ahmed Rachdi) and her son Gary John (Eileen) were born. The family moved often to small towns in upstate New York and Alberta made life-long friends in every place she lived. Before coming to live near her daughter in Fort Wayne, Alberta lived for 14 years close to her son in Anoka, Minnesota, where she and John were active in Trinity Episcopal Church.
John and Alberta lived for 17 years on East River Road in Walton. John worked for the Soil Conservation Service and Alberta was a dental assistant with Dr. Korwan.
She loved baking, gardening, knitting, sewing her own and her children’s clothes, and quilting. For several years, John and Alberta sold wood crafts and “country mice” stuffed animals at craft shows in upstate New York. She worked as a dental assistant for 15 years.
Alberta could detect insincerity a mile away, and never shied from exposing it, even as her health declined. Alberta will be remembered for her sharp humor, her kindness, and her joyful spirit.
She is survived by her son and her daughter, a granddaughter, two great-grandchildren, her sisters Evelyn and Joan, stepsisters Mildred and Patricia, stepbrothers Stanley and Gordon, and many nieces and nephews.
Her husband, her brother, a stepsister, a stepbrother, and grandson predeceased her.
Burial and a memorial service will be at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Unadilla, later in the year.
