Friday, January 17, 2025
Our mother was a very special person.
She was born at home and had a wonderfully happy childhood growing up in rural Coosa County helping with homestead chores like making butter and tending the vegetable garden, and playing with her little sister. She adored her family.
After graduating high school, she went to Jacksonville State Teachers College earning a bachelor’s degree in only three years, having attended summer school each year. She soon got jobs as a P.E. teacher at nearby high schools. She was introduced to Billy Knight on a blind date, fell in love, got married, and moved to Talladega. She paused her career for several years to start raising three young children but eventually made her way to the Alabama School for the Blind, where she worked for the rest of her career. Most of her time at ASB was teaching blind or visually impaired 3, 4 and 5-year olds, which she found immensely satisfying.
Mother greatly enjoyed traveling with my father in later years, mostly participating in bus tours and cruises and eventually visiting all fifty US states, much of Canada ,and many Caribbean nations—much of that travel being documented by Mother in her ubiquitous videos!
Mother was a one of a kind! Her kind spirit and self-deprecating humor endeared her to everyone she met. How often we heard from nurses, who might only have a few days to get to know her, how precious she was. And they were right.
Family was of absolute importance to Mother. Her entire life she provided all the love and support we could ever wish for. She made you feel like the most important person in the world (and I think she actually believed that).
Mother had a very happy, full, and long life. I am grateful for every minute we shared with her. Her family and all who knew her will miss her dearly.
