Margaret B.J. Knott (1916-2009)
KNOTT, SWANSON, ECKHARDT, LAWRENCE
Posted By: Ames Tribune
Date: 12/5/2009 at 10:23:41
THE AMES TRIBUNE, Ames, Story County, Iowa, Friday, December 4, 2009.
Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life; whosoever believeth in me, though death come, yet shall they live, and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”
The soul of Margaret B.J. Knott, secure in the arms of her Lord, left her earthly body to join the heavenly host in the early evening of Dec. 3, 2009. She died peacefully in her sleep knowing the love of her Lord, family and friends of the church and community.
Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 8, at First United Methodist Church. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 7, at Adams Funeral Home.
Born in Petersburg, Neb., on Feb. 25, 1916, and active throughout her life, Margaret left a legacy of memories and integrity for others to remember. Memories of beauty, joy and strength. She lived a life filled with charm and character that she passed on to her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her heart and home was open to all who wanted to share a quiet cup of tea or chat in her garden filled with all the color and beauty that God uses to paint his landscape.
Margaret made room in her home to students from countries as far away as China, Kenya and Poland. Graduate students and wives of soldiers who deployed overseas were welcome to live in her home. She was not a person who often said no when asked to help others.
Her house was always filled with the smells of expert cooking. Friends always welcomed an invitation to supper at the Knott’s. In the fall, the neighborhood was scented with the making of grape pie and the smells of jellies and jams marking the end of harvest.
Winter was the favorite season. Snow didn’t deter her from making the rounds of Meals on Wheels or meeting with church circle and community volunteering. She said that winter put a spring in your step and roses in your cheeks. The crystal forms of snowflakes were not overlooked and were shared with her grandchildren as they came to visit for sleigh rides and snowmen. It was a time when the land was resting to ready itself for the life of spring.
The oldest of 15 children, Margaret was preceded in death by her husband, Oliver A. Knott, and three children, Dean A. Knott, James J. Knott and Mary M. Knott Swanson. This woman, born of the Sandhills of Nebraska, survived World War I, the flu epidemic of 1918, stricken by lightning, the Dust Bowl, the Great Depression, World War II, the death of three beloved children and the loss of her husband of 45 years. She met it all with faith in her Savior and the oft repeated phrase that: “This, too, shall pass.”
There is an empty spot in the hearts of her son-in-law, Dwain Swanson, of Ankeny; her grandchildren, Debbie Swanson, of Wellman, Kevin Swanson, of Bettendorf, Kurt Swanson, of Blue Springs, Mo., Sara Knott Eckhardt, of Excelsior Springs, Mo., and Christopher Swanson, of Boston, Mass.; her son, Dewayne Knott, of Smithville, Mo.; and her brothers, Melvin Lawrence, of Beaver Dam, Ariz., and Lenard Lawrence, of Nevada.
Left to be raised by her grandmother during the Depression, and with only an eighth-grade education, she was an avid reader and was eventually asked to become an instructor in the Home Economics Department at Iowa State University. She chose instead to support her family at home, tend her garden and care for the birds that graced her life while working to retirement with the J.C.Penney Company. Margaret was the leader who started lending libraries in the small towns that were her home throughout Nebraska and Iowa. Roadside parks begun by Margaret still offer travelers opportunity for rest and refreshment.
Margaret was a member of First United Methodist Church for more than 50 years, Ames Garden Club, United Methodist Women, Agronomy Women’s Club, PEO Chapter HO, Friends of Mamie Eisenhower, Iowa Arboretum, Past Worthy Matron-Order of Eastern Star, Judea White Shrine and 4-H Club, and was a Girl Scout leader and Boy Scout supporter. An active canoeist, camper and hiker, Margaret thrilled to all aspects of God’s creation and passed on respect for the earth to her family.
Margaret Knott leaves us grieving but only for a moment, as we resume our lives and thoughts, striving to live by her extraordinary example of grace, love and forgiveness. Godspeed, Margaret.
A memorial fund has been established for the Pleasant Grove Methodist Church and the Iowa Arboretum.
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