Jack L. Knotts
October 10, 2016 at 3:21 p.m.
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He was born Jackie Lee Knotts on Nov. 2, 1936, in Muncie, to George M. and Edna M. Thomas Knotts. He grew up an only child, doted on by his grandparents, aunts and uncles. As a child, he enjoyed fishing and hunting with his uncles, swimming, games, riding his bicycle with friends and spending time with his grandparents.
As he grew older his interests turned to golf, arm wrestling, cars and dreams of treasure hunting. As an adult, he retained many of these interests and eventually would pass along some of these to his future child and together they would share in adventures.
On Jan. 3, 1965, he married the love of his life, Barbara Gail Odle. He had seen her photo in a newspaper clipping some time before they met and told his mother he would marry that woman. Although he searched for her in the Muncie area, he had no luck finding her. It was to be another two years before the two would meet. When they set eyes on one another, it was a fairy tale encounter. He was her Prince Charming and she was his beautiful queen. They would continue to refer to each other as this for the remainder of his life. They would spend nearly 52 years together as husband and wife. Together they created a home full of love and laughter.
The following January the couple became the parents of a daughter, Cynde Lou. He taught her to swim in the Florida waters and to fish in the lakes of Indiana. They would fly kites, ride horses, ice skate and find pictures in clouds together. She was his little princess and he was her daddy.
In the 1990s he retired from Barth Motorhomes Inc., Milford. He started with the company as an assembly worker but had been a sales manager prior to retiring. While working at the company, he became close friends with many of his customers, some of whom remained close with him to the very end.
Other places where he especially enjoyed working included The Yankee Clipper, Fort Lauderdale; Green Hills Golf Course, Muncie; and St. Lucie Country Club, Port St. Lucie.
He had accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. In 1996 he was baptized in the waters of Winona Lake by Dr. Greg Sterling. He had been a member of the Church of Christ wherever he lived and was most recently a member of the Overstreet Church of Christ, Wewahitchka.
He and Barbara moved from their home in Tennessee this past December. They had found a home in the Florida panhandle to be near their daughter. Unfortunately, his plans of enjoying the amenities of the area were cut short when he was struck down with a collapsed lung, followed by liver failure. Despite numerous stays in the area’s local hospitals, they could not repair the damage to his organs. He came home to his residence, under the care of Covenant Hospice. It is here that he took his last breath, in the company of his wife, daughter and friends.
He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Barbara Knotts; a daughter, Cynde (and husband Laurence Aaron), Wewahitchka; an aunt, Joey Kincaid, Muncie; cousins: Rick Herron (and wife Sue), Yellville, Ark.; Donald Joe (and wife Lou Anne) Herron, Yellville; and Susan Thomas, Muncie; sisters-in-law: Pat Ergle, Muncie; Charlene Winsor (and husband Jerry) Smyrna, Tenn.; and Della Hodges (and husband Mike), Celina, Tenn.; multiple nieces and nephews; and last but not least, by “the son of our hearts,” Phillip St. John (and wife Salma), St. Charles, Mo.
He was preceded in by his parents, George M. and Edna M. Knotts.
Graveside services will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Meadows Cemetery in Moss, Tenn.
*****
Memorials to Tennessee Children’s Home, P.O. Box 10, Spring Hill, TN 37174.
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He was born Jackie Lee Knotts on Nov. 2, 1936, in Muncie, to George M. and Edna M. Thomas Knotts. He grew up an only child, doted on by his grandparents, aunts and uncles. As a child, he enjoyed fishing and hunting with his uncles, swimming, games, riding his bicycle with friends and spending time with his grandparents.
As he grew older his interests turned to golf, arm wrestling, cars and dreams of treasure hunting. As an adult, he retained many of these interests and eventually would pass along some of these to his future child and together they would share in adventures.
On Jan. 3, 1965, he married the love of his life, Barbara Gail Odle. He had seen her photo in a newspaper clipping some time before they met and told his mother he would marry that woman. Although he searched for her in the Muncie area, he had no luck finding her. It was to be another two years before the two would meet. When they set eyes on one another, it was a fairy tale encounter. He was her Prince Charming and she was his beautiful queen. They would continue to refer to each other as this for the remainder of his life. They would spend nearly 52 years together as husband and wife. Together they created a home full of love and laughter.
The following January the couple became the parents of a daughter, Cynde Lou. He taught her to swim in the Florida waters and to fish in the lakes of Indiana. They would fly kites, ride horses, ice skate and find pictures in clouds together. She was his little princess and he was her daddy.
In the 1990s he retired from Barth Motorhomes Inc., Milford. He started with the company as an assembly worker but had been a sales manager prior to retiring. While working at the company, he became close friends with many of his customers, some of whom remained close with him to the very end.
Other places where he especially enjoyed working included The Yankee Clipper, Fort Lauderdale; Green Hills Golf Course, Muncie; and St. Lucie Country Club, Port St. Lucie.
He had accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. In 1996 he was baptized in the waters of Winona Lake by Dr. Greg Sterling. He had been a member of the Church of Christ wherever he lived and was most recently a member of the Overstreet Church of Christ, Wewahitchka.
He and Barbara moved from their home in Tennessee this past December. They had found a home in the Florida panhandle to be near their daughter. Unfortunately, his plans of enjoying the amenities of the area were cut short when he was struck down with a collapsed lung, followed by liver failure. Despite numerous stays in the area’s local hospitals, they could not repair the damage to his organs. He came home to his residence, under the care of Covenant Hospice. It is here that he took his last breath, in the company of his wife, daughter and friends.
He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Barbara Knotts; a daughter, Cynde (and husband Laurence Aaron), Wewahitchka; an aunt, Joey Kincaid, Muncie; cousins: Rick Herron (and wife Sue), Yellville, Ark.; Donald Joe (and wife Lou Anne) Herron, Yellville; and Susan Thomas, Muncie; sisters-in-law: Pat Ergle, Muncie; Charlene Winsor (and husband Jerry) Smyrna, Tenn.; and Della Hodges (and husband Mike), Celina, Tenn.; multiple nieces and nephews; and last but not least, by “the son of our hearts,” Phillip St. John (and wife Salma), St. Charles, Mo.
He was preceded in by his parents, George M. and Edna M. Knotts.
Graveside services will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Meadows Cemetery in Moss, Tenn.
*****
Memorials to Tennessee Children’s Home, P.O. Box 10, Spring Hill, TN 37174.
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