Molly Ann Knotts Rennaker, 47, of Fort Wayne and a native of Eel River Township near Churubusco, left the chains that bound her to life and ran laughing and dancing into the arms of Jesus at 5:20 a.m. on Friday, July 31, 2015, at Ashton Creek Health & Rehab in Fort Wayne.

Molly was born in Fort Wayne on Sept. 16, 1967, a daughter of Richard P. and Jeannine (Durnbaugh) Knotts, and spent her formative years in the Churubusco area. She graduated from Carroll High School in 1986 and earned a bachelor’s degree from Manchester College in 1990. As a young woman, she worked for 12 years as a case worker for the Division of Family Resources in Wabash County. Later in her life, she worked as a chauffeur for the Amish community in Allen County.

Donovan, her son, was her greatest pride and joy. Afraid she would not live long enough to raise her son, her proudest achievement was to see him to manhood. Holding hands, the two of them laughed and cried as he helped her “away” to her heavenly home. She’d had a heart transplant and subsequent stroke, which left her without body movement or the ability to speak. However, she continued to smile her way through life and made friends everywhere. Tears may fill the eyes of those left behind, but joy, health and grace have wiped all tears from Molly’s eyes.

A lover of music, she participated in Minstrel Magic at Carroll High School and spent her last few active years enjoying ballroom dancing. Her son remembers her as a devoted “soccer mom” and her family will remember how she lit up each room she entered with her speech, her joy and her “Mollyism,” which included her quirky humor, her determined spunk and her unending joy.

The surviving relatives include her son: Donovan (Micheala Pattison, girlfriend) Rennaker, Harlan; mother and step-father: Jeannine (Knotts) and John Brown, Harlan; her two sisters: Meegan (Mark) Siegwarth, Huntertown; Dinah (Michael) Keeterle, Springfield, Tenn.; niece and nephews: Lauren and Ryan Siegwarth; Seth Keeterle; a step-niece and nephew; two great-step nieces; and three stepsisters.

She was preceded in death by her father on March 6, 2008.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 5, at the Churubusco United Methodist Church with Pastors Corinne Boruff-Stucker and Lamar Imes officiating.

The family will receive friends at the Sheets & Childs Funeral Home in Churubusco from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, or at the church one hour prior to the service Wednesday morning.

Private family interment will be in the Eel River Cemetery, Allen County.

For those who wish, memorials may be directed to Indiana Organ Procurement Organization, 3760 Guion Rd., Indianapolis, IN 46222.