WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont. — On March 27, 2021, at age 77, Edward Knapp,

peacefully passed away surrounded by his family at his home in West Yellowstone, Mont. Edward was born in Bowling Green Township, Fayette County, Ill., on June 28, 1943, to Fred and Lucille (Sarver) Knapp.

He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Sue; son Ron; daughter Sherri Morgal; grandchildren Madison Knapp, Jake Knapp, Rusti Harrigfeld and Kristin Morgal; great-grandsons Weston Kelly Harrigfeld and Marik

Edward Wilson; great-granddaughter Cash Lynn Harrigfeld; sister Karen Jones of Herrick, Ill., and a host of nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, brothers Donald Eugene and Duane Knapp and sister Linda Smith.

Edward was U.S. Army veteran, volunteering for service in 1963 and completing basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., and artillery school at Fort Sill, Okla., before deploying to the DMZ in Korea.

After his return from Korea he was stationed at Fort Knox, Ky., where he re-enlisted and was accepted into the Army data processing school in Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis, Ind., where he served as class leader. After completion of this course he was stationed in Fort Benning, Ga., with the 1st Air Cavalry Division before deployment to An Khe, Vietnam, at the beginning of the war.

Upon his return he was stationed at Ent Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., and from there was transferred to Schofield Barracks, Oahu, Hawaii, where he served until his honorable discharge in 1968. He was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Vietnam Service Medal and Good Conduct Medal.

After his discharge, Edward moved to Bentonville, Ark., where he worked for Cooper Communities in Bella Vista in their data processing division. He later went to work for Walmart Stores Inc. as a systems programmer in the information systems department where he remained until his retirement in 2001.

In early retirement he traveled the country in his RV, taking his grandchildren on many adventures during summer vacations from school. Together they visited Yellowstone National Park, The Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Monument, The Badlands, Glacier National Park, and hiked at Logan Pass on the Going To The Sun Road and did white water raft trips on the Gallatin River in Montana.

In 2005, he moved to West Yellowstone, working summers for the National Park Service in Yellowstone National Park. One of the great pleasures of his life was touring friends and family though Yellowstone, especially those who had never been there before. He enjoyed his family and friends and a rousing game of Pegs ‘N Jokers.

Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. Friday, April 9, 2021, and his funeral service will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 10, 2021, both in Callison-Lough Funeral Home in Bentonville.

Condolences may be expressed at www.CallisonLoughFH.com. Memorials are suggested to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 22478, Oklahoma City, Okla., 73123, or www.Cancer.org; Shriner’s Hospitals, Pro cessing Center, P.O. Box 863765, Orlando, Fla., 32886, or ShrinersHospitalsForChildren.org; St. Jude Children’s Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, Tenn., 38105, www.stjude.org, or the charity of your choice. Arrangements are under the care of Callison-Lough Funeral Home in Bentonville.