Mary Ann Kipp-Yarborough

July 22, 1951 - November 28, 2020

Our beloved Mary Ann Knipp-Yarborough, age 69, of The Villages, Florida, unexpectedly passed away Saturday, November 28, 2020. She was a loving mother, devoted Nana, caring sister, dedicated Registered Nurse, devout Catholic, and a dear friend to countless people. Born July 22, 1951 in Two Rivers/Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and a longtime resident of Brandon, Florida, she was the oldest daughter of Vernon Lawerentz and June Morris. She is survived by her loving husband of 15 years, Joseph Yarborough, her father Vernon and stepmother Lillian Lawerentz, her sister Kathy and husband Bruce Brefczynski, step sister Diane and her husband Paul Risch, her son Mark and wife Wendy Knipp, son Scott and wife Erin Knipp, son Joe Knipp, former husband David Knipp, stepson Jeff and wife Laura Yarborough, and stepdaughter Kelly and husband Tim Whitaker. Grandchildren include Michael Knipp (17), Jason Knipp (14), Nathan Whitaker (9), Lindsay Whitaker (5), Aiden Yarborough (9) and Maggie Yarborough (7). And multiple nieces and nephews and cousins. She was preceded in death by her brother Michael Lawerentz, sister Sherry Karnes, step sisters Barbara and Sharon, step brother David, her mother June, and step father Mike Morris. She was known as Mary Ann to husband and friends, Nana to grandchildren, Mimi to nieces and nephews, and Mary to her dad. If you knew Mary Ann, then you can't help but have many positive memories. A force of nature, you would be swept up in her positivity and enthusiasm. She believed in you, even if you weren't sure if you believed in yourself. There was no darkness in her heart, only light and love and it shown like a lighthouse brightening the lives of others in this dark world. She bestowed the sort of love and positive feelings that most people only believe exists in stories. She loved a great many things, sassy dogs, little children, old people, her childhood hometown, family, and helping other people. If you were her friend, you were her friend for life and as she lived she amassed a huge collection of close friends. "The world can be a much better place if we can all just stop being so negative," she would say. She is right. With boundless energy, she was never happy to sit still, and could always be found on her feet busy doing something, rearranging furniture, making little treats for her grandchildren, cleaning up dog hair after one of her shedding sassy dogs, or touring The Villages in her Green Bay Packers-decorated golf cart. No matter how tired or how much pain she was in, she would always put other people first. No distance was too great to travel to see her grandchildren or attend their soccer games or school pageants. She was especially fond of cheering for her grandchildren’s’ teams. She had an uncanny knack for somehow sitting in the exact wrong spot and getting hit by countless soccer balls. Still, she would go to every event that she could. No amount of time was ever enough to be spent with family. One also couldn’t mistake the fact that she was also really fun and liked enjoying the company of friends. She loved a good party or group dinner, organizing trips, and joined a lot of clubs doing a variety of fun things, even starting or leading the clubs just so things could happen. She was no "home body" as she would say. She was never a spectator in life, loved being a part of people’s lives and catching up with friends and family. Not satisfied to stay put, she went on many adventures, took several cruises in the Pacific, Caribbean, and Mediterranean as well as traveled all over the US and Europe. Born and raised in the humble and friendly surroundings of Manitowoc and Two Rivers, Wisconsin where she graduated high school, this is where she first decided to help people and started her career in nursing and eventually cardiology research. Here, she first took classes and became a nursing assistant. She got married to David, had her first son Mark then moved to Michigan, where she had her second son, Scott. Next she moved with her family to California for a few years and studied for her LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse). Then the family relocated to Brandon, Florida where she had her youngest son Joey. She continued her nursing training and went on to teaching classes at various nursing colleges. The family then moved to Crystal Lake, Illinois for a few years where she finished her BS in Nursing and her RN, finally returning to Florida in the 1990’s because it "felt like home." Mary Ann was always a charismatic and natural leader, but was always truly interested in helping people, especially small children and the elderly. Over her career, she worked at various hospitals with infants and at assisted living facilities with the elderly. Being bright, tireless, skilled, positive, and sincere, she was promoted quickly into various management positions, but still stayed close to the patients. Sometimes just picking up a shift or two at a hospital in addition to her full time job. While teaching nursing, she noticed that some of the students were struggling with childcare so she started a daycare center at the college, and it was an immediate runaway success. Later on, to spend more time with her youngest son, Joey, she briefly left nursing and ran a childcare center. Eventually, she topped off her career as a cardiac research nurse running pharmacological studies for USF Health before eventually retiring to The Villages, Florida. During her career, she was known to many as a leader and a mentor. She wanted everyone to succeed and would even help people sometimes even in secret. She may have stopped working, but also never slowed down one bit. "You know, I love you boys," She would often say randomly and out of the blue to tease her sons and especially her teenage grandsons. She loved deeply and without condition and couldn't be more proud of her children and grandchildren or loved them more profoundly. She used to speak about how we should all have empathy for each other and encourage everyone to be patient and kind to each other. When her children visited, she liked sitting and talking on her back porch, under the veranda, or at the dining room table. A fun conversation or a quiet one over coffee was part of every visit. She wanted to know everything going on, and would always share all of the news of the other family members. Mary Ann developed Multiple Sclerosis and if not for that, would never have settled for being retired. While it caused her a great amount of pain, she did her best to not let on and always put on great meals and amazing holiday get togethers, stayed very active, and continued to spend time with family and friends. Her MS treatments helped control many of the symptoms. But treatment for MS is still very limited. We are all truly blessed to have her in our lives, and the world is a little darker for having lost her. In lieu of flowers, kindly donate to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. https://www.nationalmssociety.org/Donate Information on where celebration of life will be A celebration of life is planned. We also be broadcasting the celebration on youtube live for those that cannot attend.