Mozelle Yvonne (Knaggs) Prentice

Mozelle Yvonne (Knaggs) Prentice

Born:  October 5, 1926

Died:   November 18, 2019

Parents:  Merle S. Knaggs and Edna Carnes/Knaggs

Siblings: Youngest of five; all are deceased

Children:  Al and Dianne Prentice, Bob and Juana Prentice, Jody and Rick Valdez

Grandchildren: Scott and Molly  Prentice, Christine Mozelle and Craig Person, Rochelle Paredes, Gabriel Paredes, Nathaniel and Sara Paredes, Tim and Athena Valdez, Tim and Becca Valdez-Vengco,  Ruth and Scott Degruyter, Brian and Christy Perez

Great Grandchildren: Ellie Prentice, Nolan Prentice, Drew Prentice, Cole Prentice, Jacob Person, Sophia Mozelle Person, Jack Person, Molly Paredes, David Paredes, Bonnie Paredes, Everly Kurth, Airy Valdez, Alex Valdez, Hannah Valdez, Aurora Valdez, Chris Perez and Emma DeGruyter,

          Mozelle was born in Akron, Ohio and grew up during the depression. She met her future husband Albert Prentice in 1945 at the end of World War II. He was a sergeant in the Army and home on leave at a church service when he saw Mozelle for the first time.  The story told by Albert is, “I stood up to give my testimony and saw Mozelle for the first time. It was love at first sight.” This was the beginning of a 45 year love story. They were married in July of that year.

          Albert left the Army soon after they were married and they moved to Siloam Springs, Arkansas where Albert attended college and was a circuit preacher for two rural churches. Mozelle gave birth to their first child; Albert Jr. there in 1947.  Later that year, after finishing college, Albert was sent to Glendora, California to be president of John Brown School for Girls. They became very involved in the Glendora community as well as The Glendora Nazarene church, which later would become the Glendora C&MA church.

Their next two children,  Bob in 1953 and Jody in 1956. They would settle in Glendora to raise their family until 1968 when they started a serious number of moves back and forth across the country.

          In 1968 they moved to Los Alamitos, California, then to cross country to Toccoa Falls, Georgia. It was here that Mozelle learned medical transcribing. She was fast and accurate and loved her work. In 1972, back they came to Glendora. Four years later they moved to Orlando, Florida until 1979 when they came back to San Diego. Mozelle handled all of these job changes and moves with patience and grace, but she put her foot down once they returned for the last time to California.

          After a stroke that Albert had suffered they moved back to Glendora in 1989 to be close to family. They were glad to be back at the Glendora C&MA church they had been instrumental in helping to get started all those years before. Mozelle continued her work in medical transcribing until she later retired and became secretary for the Glendora C&MA church. In December of 1992 Albert passed away ending their 45 year love story.

          She would meet and marry Phil Darden in 2003.  After Phil’s death in 2009 continued to live in the senior community until 2013 when she moved to the Regency Grand assisted living facility in West Covina. She loved living there and she quickly made many friends. She played lots of  Bingo and was good at it too. As always, she had a smile, a kind word, and compassionate heart for everyone she met.

          Over the course of 2019 Mozelle took several falls.  Each one was worse than the one before until on November 15 she would take her worst and final fall.On November 18 she passed away in the early morning hours at Pomona Valley Hospital.  Over the last few hours of her life her family was with her and though she had severe injuries she let us know she loved us.

          Mozelle loved the Lord deeply and exemplified that love throughout her life in everything she did. She loved her family, praying for each and every one of them daily.  We have the comfort of knowing that she is in Heaven with the Lord Jesus Christ and all those who knew the Lord that went before her.

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