Noreen Ann Kopenhaver

After a more than 30-year battle with multiple sclerosis, Noreen Kopenhaver died peacefully at her home on Wednesday, October 6, 2021. She was born on November 20, 1957, in Nyack, New York where she spent her childhood. After graduating from Nyack High School, Noreen attended and graduated from the University of Colorado in Boulder with a Journalism degree, and then spent a year in Hull, United Kingdom to earn her Master’s. After a stint working in New York City, Noreen moved to the Washington, DC area and was hired at USA Today where she met her husband of over 35 years Ray Gniewek. After leaving the workforce to raise her son Edmond, Noreen generously gave back to her community and those in need through volunteering and contributions, including with Secret Santa, Habitat for Humanity, Martha’s Table, local food banks, and many more. She also was an avid arts and theater supporter and served on the Arlington Commission for the Arts, presiding as Chair for one year. Before her sickness kept her at home, Noreen could always be seen at the theater, a gallery opening, an arts panel discussion or vacationing with her family in their cherished city of London. She is survived by her son Edmond Gniewek (Amy), Chantilly, VA; two stepchildren, Brett D’Amore (Tom), Buffalo, NY, and Jared Gniewek (Lizzie), Manhattan, New York; father Bob Kopenhaver of Fayetteville, PA; two siblings, Robert Kopenhaver (Diane), Briarcliff Manor, NY, and Janet Kopenhaver, Arlington, VA; as well as several cousins. She is predeceased by her husband Ray Gniewek and her mother Sandra (Guerrieri) Kopenhaver. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions in her name and in recognition of her lifelong passion for the arts to Embracing Arlington Arts, 754 North Vermont Street, Arlington, VA 22203 or via https://fundraising.fracturedatlas.org/embracing-arlington-arts.