Jes Knoop
Funeral Director & Embalmer
Jes was born and raised in the cozy mountain town of Crowsnest Pass. She grew up exploring the natural world with her three siblings and neighborhood friends, surrounded by a warm community that taught her acceptance and trust.
She was born into a lineage of women who were passionate about caregiving. Her grandmother Glenda Zuk (nee Jensen) managed the York Creek Lodge in Blairmore throughout Jes’s childhood and her mother Loretta Knoop (nee Wall) worked with seniors in her role as a healthcare provider all across Southern Alberta. It was their commitment and passion that gave Jes a compassion and tenderness that still motivates her today.
After moving to Lethbridge and becoming a single mother to her first son, Shade, Jes began her studies at the University of Lethbridge. She was passionate about her studies and focused her studies on how religion serves as a coping system for those going through loss, grief, or trauma. Upon graduation in 2019, she obtained a Bachelors of Arts, with minors in both Asian Studies and Anthropology, she received her undergraduate thesis designation for her SSHRC grant research at the Lethbridge Buddhist Temple, and she obtained Great Distinction for her academic achievement.
She gave birth to her second son, Alder, one week before she finished her degree. After taking time off to raise her newest family member, she began her studies at Mount Royal University, obtaining her Diploma in Funeral Services and both her Funeral Director and Embalming licenses in 2022. While her apprenticeship was divided between two very busy city funeral homes, Cornerstone Funeral Home and Martin Brothers Funeral Chapels, she ultimately sought a career in a small town, missing the closeknit community spirit.
She began work as a Funeral Director and Embalmer at Eden’s Funeral Home in Fort Macleod and Pincher Creek in March of 2023 and has flourished in her role as a third generation caregiver, albeit through a different role than what her mother and grandmother served as health care workers.
Jes loves the families she serves and puts her whole heart into providing a safe space, a sense of comfort and familiarity, and an indefinite welcome to anyone who needs help as they walk along their grief journey. She has a great passion in caring for the elderly and for mothers who have lost a child, and goes to great lengths to ensure they are supported throughout the whole process.
Jes has now set her sights on grief therapy and is working diligently to bring grief support resources to communities that need it most.
