On August 21, 2007, Mary E. Kniel, age 77 passed away peacefully at her home in Punta Gorda, Florida. She was born just outside of Pontiac on May 16, 1930 the oldest child of Milner and Margaret (Smith) Cook. The family was raised on a dairy farm in Oakland County. Mary was the youngest person in the State of Michigan to work as a telephone operator in Ortonville. She graduated from Ortonville High School as salutatorian. Mary attended Michigan State University and obtained an occupational therapy degree from Eastern Michigan in 1952. She would go on to get a degree in physical therapy from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and one internship at the School for the Blind in Lansing. Mary used her occupational physical therapy degree with the Royal Oak School System. Working thru the state of Michigan she found the rewards of helping children with disabilities and often treated them like they were her own. She took pride in the work she loved. On December 29, 1967 at the Seymour Lake Methodist Church she married John Kniel, a custodian for Royal Oak Schools. They made their home in Frasier while she continued to work, retiring in 1985. Mary and John had a cottage on Lost Lake since 1983 and made it their permanent home in the early 1990's. Mary was an excellent cook with enough cookbooks to fill two homes. She enjoyed knitting sweaters for loved ones; arts and crafts; helping her nieces and nephews learn to fish and camp; traveling to visit; those VW vehicles and her dogs. She kept track of all the family and friends. She was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphomic Leukemia and exceeded the given life expectancy by 10 years. Mary had a positive attitude and was determined. Mary is survived by her loving husband of 40 years, John Kniel of Lost Lake (Barryton, Sisters: Martha Bailey and Marjorie Cook, lifelong friends Betty Farah and Devota Nowland, Aunt Fran Vickery (California), Uncle Bob and Aunt Lillian (Georgia), Uncle Arnold (Holly) and Sally Andrews, ten nieces and nephews, fourteen great nieces and nephews and four great-great niece and nephews whom will continue to hold memories of Mary close to their hearts and her two dachshunds that she adored; Pickles and Peppers. Besides her parents Mary was preceded in death by her brothers Johnny and Paul. A memorial service in Mary's name will take place 2:00 p.m. Sunday, October 21, 2007 at the Daggett Funeral Home in Barryton, Michigan with Pastor Randy Piatt officiating.