Lorna Gale Knutson

Lorna Knutson-Anderson was born on November 4th, 1940 in Manitoba Canada. She was the eldest of seven children and lovingly known to her siblings as "Big Sis". In April of 1957 she married James Bettis. Together they had three children named Lorelei, Shaun and Natalie. Tragically, at the age of four, Shaun went home to be with the Lord. It was then that Lorna began to understand the scripture, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

By 1966 Lorna was on her own raising her two daughters. She began waitressing at IHOP in Lakewood, CA, and worked there for many years until she met and married Ken Knutson who was affectionately known as "Papa Bear." They shared fifteen wonderful years together and in August of 2005 "Papa Bear" went home to be with the Lord and again heaven became that much sweeter to her.

In 1987 Lorna became a grandmother of the first time to Brandon, and then God blessed her with Trevor, Shaun, Samuel and Shane. She often said that God gave her boys to comfort her from the loss of her only son. In 2009 she became "GG" when her first great grandson Elias was born. Cameron, Samantha, Kylee and Kira soon followed. She was also "grandma" to Jayde, Jenny and many others and "mom" to countless more! She LOVED her grandchildren and was blessed beyond measure to be a part of their lives. Her son-in-law Phil was also one of her biggest blessings. She would shine like the sun when he would lovingly call her "Momzie"- a name only he was allowed to call her!

In 1992 Lorna began attending Calvary Chapel Ontario which later became Calvary Chapel Chino Valley. She knew immediately that she had found her "home." Throughout her years at CCCV she served in many different ministries including Women's Ministry, New Believers Ministry, and Prison Ministry. She had a compassion and love for Christ that was evident to all who knew her and a smile that would light up the room. A hug from Lorna was like a hug from heaven and her ability to make you feel loved was experienced by everyone who had the privilege of knowing her.

In 2006 while visiting her family in Canada she was reunited with her childhood sweetheart Larry Anderson. On August 8th they were married in Creston, BC in a sweet ceremony surrounded by family and friends. Over the past seven years they had divided their time between Canada and California and enjoyed seeing family and friends as they traveled back and forth.

Some of Lorna's favorite things included reading which is evident when you see the hundreds of books in her collection! She also loved gardening and listening to her Gaither videos (I think she has every video they ever made!) Many words could be used to describe her but the one that stands out is compassion. Her compassion had no limits and was extended to everyone. She lived to spend time with family and friends but nothing was more important to her than her relationship with Jesus Christ. Anyone that knew her understood that the deepest desire of the heart was to go home to be with her sweet Savior.

Finally on May 12th 2013, Jesus gave her the best Mother's Day gift she would ever receive: A glorious and sweet reunion with the son she longed to see for so many years alongside the Savior who died for her so that she could spend eternity in His presence. We are comforted to know that she has now heard the words, "Well done thou good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of thy Lord..." She truly was a good and faithful servant and it has been and honor to be her daughter. We will miss her everyday and look forward to one day being reunited with her in heaven. May God bless each one of you and we thank you so much for the love and encouragement you have extended toward our family. We are eternally grateful!

Love, Natalie & Family