Edward Wiley McKnight, Sr.

FAIRHOPE, AL On January 13 th , Mr. Edward Wiley McKnight, Sr. died peacefully in his home after a happy active life of nearly one hundred years.  Mr. McKnight was born at Samson (Geneva County), Alabama on March 2, 1913, to Arthur Coleman and Dora Lee Fulford McKnight. As a child, he grew up in the sawmill towns of Millville, Bay Harbor, Lakewood, and Holt in northwest Florida, Allenhurst, GA, and Riderwood, AL While in Riderwood, he attended Choctaw County High School in Butler, AL, where he met and later married Helen Bush. They were married for seventy years until the time of her death in 2007.  He attended Auburn University until the mill closed in the summer of 1931. At that time, his parents moved to Gainesville, FL because his parents had put their savings into a rooming house, where they served meals and rented rooms to University of Florida students. During that time, Ed attended the university, where he graduated in 1935 with a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering. After graduation, he took advanced ROTC and received his army commission as a 2 nd Lieutenant after graduation.  In October of 1941, he was called to active duty with the U.S. Army and served as commander of the Light Platoon of Company B of the 701 st TD Battalion. In November 8, 1942, his company landed in Algeria, where they assisted in the North African Campaign.  Later, he received rotation orders returning him to the states. He then reported for several months of advanced field artillery training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and later shipped out to the Philippine Islands. There, he was assigned to Battery C of the 41 st Division as liaison officer with the infantry, until the fighting ended in the Philippines. His outfit visited Japan on their way home from the Pacific, and he was honorably discharged as a captain.  He returned to work for the Greenwood County power system in South Carolina. Other projects and positions were in Greenville, South Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and DuPont Company in Memphis, Tennessee, where he worked for two years building a hydrogen cyanide and sodium cyanide plant. In December, 1952, he was offered the position of Power Plant Engineer at the University of North Carolina, in Chapel Hill where he and his wife lived until 1979. At that time, they retired and moved to Fairhope, AL.  In Fairhope, he enjoyed fishing with a group of men early in the mornings at the pier (now a marina) area operated by the Pope family. The rent was a certain percentage of their catch to Mr. Pope. Both Ed and his wife enjoyed trips with the Baldwin Senior Travelers and were active members of Fairhope Methodist Church, where he previously served as an usher. He was an avid gardener, often giving sacks of tomatoes to all the neighbors. For a number of years, he was a volunteer driver for Meals on Wheels. In his nineties, he wrote letters to the editor with quite a few published in the Mobile Press-Register. Up until the last month of his life, he was blessed with the ability to lead an independent life style.  After the death of his wife, He enjoyed visiting Faith Fellowship Church with his neighbor, and became an active and very loved member there.  He was predeceased in death by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Coleman McKnight, his beloved wife, Helen, and daughter, Evelyn Johnson, brothers, James Thomas, (1944, in Belgium), Arthur Coleman, Jr., and sister, Louise. He is survived by his children, Edward Wiley McKnight, Jr. (Marion), Robert Oren McKnight (Sandra), grandchildren, Edward Wiley McKnight III (Linda), Susan McKnight, Dr. Helen Cali (Joe), Jesse Johnson (Christi), Robert Bush McKnight (Yoshi), James McKnight, and great- grandchildren, Bodie, Tori, Clint, Katie, and Victoria.  The family will receive friends on Thursday, January 17th, 2013, at Wolfe-Bayview Funeral Home, Fairhope, from 1:00pm until 2:00pm. Following visitation, there will be a Celebration of Life service in the Wolfe-Bayview chapel at 2:00 pm. A family graveside service and interment will be held at Fairhope Memory Gardens on Friday, January 18th, 2013, at 9:00am. The family and friends of Mr. McKnight would like to express their appreciation to the kind and very competent staff of Mercy Medical Home Hospice, a very special neighbor, Brenda Gates, caring ladies, Ileen Fisher and Susie Klein and all the lovely ladies of their Golden Rule Sitter Service, who cared for our much loved father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and friend with compassion, skill, devotion and commitment. You were wonderful! In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, Tennessee 38105, Grace Fellowship Church,19993 County Road 33,  Fairhope, AL 36532, or Fairhope Methodist Church memorial fund, 155 South Section Street, Fairhope, AL.    ARRANGEMENTS BY \WOLFE-BAYVIEW FUNERAL HOMES & CREMATORY, INC 19698 GREENO ROAD F AIRHOPE, AL 36532 (251) 990-7775