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Roy Paul Knight

GREEN, GRIFFITH, KNIGHT, LEE, LINNET, MADDEN, RAINBOW, SKY, SONG, STANDING

Posted By: Ida Morse (email)
Date: 7/24/2006 at 22:59:29

Kuhn Funeral Home Obituary
Earlham, Dexter and Redfield, Iowa

OBITUARY OF ROY KNIGHT

Roy Paul Knight was born to Clifford and Edith Knight 6-26-1928 in the small community of Green Mountain near Marshalltown, Iowa. He was quite young when the family moved to a small farm just north of Springville, Iowa. On this farm he grew up loving to ride horses and helping other young lads of the community dam up the small creek that ran through the farm for a swimming hole (much to the consternation of some of the neighboring farms who used the creek as a watering hole for livestock!). He and his brother Laverne, two years younger, loved corncob fights and Roy considered it quite a sport to pester their sister Frances, three years older, because she spent more than her share of time in the bathroom.

Clifford and Edith had a strong Quaker faith. The family attended the Quaker meeting in the small settlement of Whittier a few miles from their home. To this day Roy’s initials may be found carved on a back bench of the meeting house, but more importantly the experience of worshiping there etched into him convictions and commitments that he followed all of his life.

This was a time of strict work ethics. Clifford felt he didn’t have enough work to keep Roy busy at home, so when Roy was thirteen his father arranged for him to work summers as a full-time hired hand for an elderly farm couple 11 miles from home. Roy often related how he walked 3 miles to the nearest town after working all day to get more to eat, as his employer couldnšt fill him up and he was lonely. He often remarked that being employed so early made him mature at an early age.

Roy attended Scattergood Quaker Boarding School near West Branch, Iowa, his senior year of high school. He thrived on the activities, the social structure and the work/academic program at Scattergood. Students and staff became family in this Midwest environment. The Graduation speaker that year was Henry Cadberry. The line Roy chose to add to his repertoire was, ł If this generation is the same as the last there has been no progress.˛

After Scattergood Roy was off to Penn College (now University). He enjoyed the basketball, music, and girls, and the Challenge of being Independent. In the spring of his freshman year when he heard about the Heifer Project, his convictions led him to temporarily leave school and joined the Merchant Marines, taking horses and cattle to war-torn Europe. This was a pretty heady adventure for an Iowa boy.

Roy met Wanda Standing while at Scattergood and couldnšt quite get free of her. This relationship blossomed into marriage 8-30-l947, and vows were said in the little meetinghouse near Earlham, Iowa, where Wanda grew up. From this marriage were born: Ronald Pat (recently married to Stuyvesant), who has 4 daughters, Megan Linnet (Richard), Maleika Rainbow (Damian & son Tyler), Natosha Song, and Jamara Sky; Pamela Kay Madden (Tom), who has a daughter, Jasmine Laurel (Ron), and son Woodlyn Knight; Paulette Ann Green (Jim), who has Kyle Leo (Teresa) and Hilary Rose (Onur); Nicholas Scott (Carrie), who has Gregory Paul and Shazette Nicole, and with Carrie has Chad Milo; and Thomas Kurt, who has three sons, Zachary Myers, Ben Standing and Jordan Thomas.

Roy learned his trade by working for the Homer Kellogg Construction Company in Des Moines, and for Ron Malstedt and the Godwin brothers in Indianola. In l960 he moved his family to Earlham, where he established the Knight Building Company. Over the years he has built or remodeled approximately 300 homes in the area. He loved to build cabinets and drew his own blueprints. Roy was a meticulous craftsman with an eye for detail; even during his illness, while being wheeled from room to room in the hospital, he would notice flaws in the trim, a crooked ceiling tile, or glass doorknobs that he knew indicated he was in an older part of the building.

Roy and Wanda bought the century farm Wandašs parents had owned near Earlham. They designed and built their home on this farm, and as with a typical carpenteršs mentality, it was finished about a week before it went on the market in September of 2001. Roy fashioned the farm into an alfalfa enterprise. He also raised Arabian show horses, a red-ink passion that gave him great joy.

Roy and Wanda spent 8 years after retiring traveling south in the winter mostly to Gulf Shores, Alabama, but visiting most states in the union. The word Antique required many stops as they explored and camped in their 5th wheeler, accumulating a lot of stuff. They usually camped with Dear friends, but Roy loved to visit with anybody.

In the mid 90s a major decision was made that was a big adjustment for the whole family. A few Quaker friends had decided to sign up to move to the Village, a Methodist Retirement facility in Indianola, Iowa. The Knights were a part of this migration. Here, Roy enjoyed working with Habitat for Humanity, playing Horseshoes, bowling with the boys and he played a wicked game of ping-pong. Roy loved the Village residents and the staff he came to recognize that it was a superb fit for his personality. When he became ill and returned Home to the Care Center, he couldnšt have had better care. Love surrounded us as he came to the end of his journey.

Roy was a bold spirit, with a delightful sense of humor. He left no doubt about his views and expressed himself with few words. His convictions werenšt always popular, but he lived as he felt led. He felt each human soul was endowed with the Light of God. He dearly loved his family, cared for his community, and practiced his faith.

Roy is survived by his immediate family, his sister Francis Lee, brother-in-law John Griffith, sister-in-law Joy, nephews and nieces, and many other relatives and friends.

Link to Gravestone Photo
 

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