James Aubrey "Jack" Knight

October 22, 1927 – November 5, 2018

James Aubrey ("Jack") Knight passed away peacefully on Monday, November 5, 2018, at the Mississippi State Veterans Home in Oxford, Mississippi. By his side he was surrounded by family, especially his devoted wife, Sue, his true love of 67 years.

Jack was indeed a great man of moral character and integrity and a role model not only to his children and grandchildren, but also to many in the community. In everything he did, he always put others first. His life was centered around his faith and his family, especially his loving wife, Sue, whom he adored. He could often be heard to remark "Isn't she pretty?" Jack leaves his family and community a great legacy and road map on how to live life.

His Name. Jack has rarely been called James or Aubrey – he was always "Jack" (probably after his initials "JAK"). It is not clear how William and Berta decided on naming him "James", but Berta was known to recall that Aubrey was a name in a book that Jack's grandmother, "Ma Knight", was reading shortly before he was born and she loved that name. Jack isn't the only name he is known by. Sue always called him "Sweetie." Ruby almost never called Jack anything but "Son", while nieces and nephews call him "Uncle Jack" and the grands and great grands know him as "Pop Pop" or "Pa Jack."

The Times in Which Jack Was Born & Raised. Jack was born on October 22, 1927, in Springhill Mississippi, to William Charles Knight and Ellen Alberta Beck Knight. His only sibling, Ruby, was born a couple of years later on Valentine's Day. Life in 1927 was anything but easy. The Great Flood of 1927 was the most destructive river flood in the history of the United States. And the Great Depression which lasted ten years was just a stone's throw away, starting in 1929. The Depression caused many farmers to lose their farms. William lost his father when he was only a young teenager. William, as the oldest child in his family, helped his Mother raise his two brothers (Jake and Bryant) and two sisters (Jessie Mae and Emma Sue), along with his Uncle Henry and Aunt Dora. Life for the newlyweds, William and Berta, was not a soft one.

Where Jack Has Lived. With the tough times and the Depression, Jack and his family moved several times before William and his brothers bought the farm where Jack and Sue lived and raised their family. While Berta raised the family, the garden, and worked in the fields herself, William worked on other people's farms and the New Deal WPA (Works Progress Administration) program, helping build the school at Eupora, and other projects such as planting the oak trees in front of Fellowship Baptist Church in Bellefontaine (and other places) to support his family. Jack lived in Springhill, the New Hope community, Sapa, and then in the McCain Town community. Jack and Sue actually lived in the McCain Town community – they just had a Bellefontaine mailing address. And speaking of addresses, they used to have two of them, with two mailboxes, one on each side of Highway 9. When the mailman went one direction, the mail had a "Slate Springs" address, and going the other direction, the mail had a "Bellefontaine" address.

Growing Up. Jack was always a hard worker (and he married another one!). He worked in many cotton, corn, soybean, and wheat fields. He worked with his family on farms growing up. During World War II, Jack and other school boys went to North Dakota and South Dakota two different years during harvest season to help harvest the wheat, since so many men were in the war and they needed help to get in the wheat to feed the soldiers. Also, during the war, Jack worked at the gas station in Eupora after school, again because so many men were serving in the military. William bought Jack a used bicycle with a little basket on the front which someone had

previously used as a delivery vehicle. Jack said he was so proud of that bicycle – he could ride his bike instead of walk like he usually did. He would ride his bicycle after working at the gas station on gravel roads to his home in Sapa, right outside Eupora.

School. Jack attended several schools, including Springhill, Slate Springs, Bellefontaine, and Eupora. He graduated from Eupora High School. Jack would take time off from school during the fall to help bring in the crops.

Military. Jack was proud of his military service and often talked about it. He was drafted and went to Camp McCain, a World War II U. S. Army Infantry training post near Grenada, while he was still in high school. He likely would have gone to Europe, but after bombs were dropped in Japan, President Truman ordered all of the "school boys" to go back home and to school. Several years later Jack enlisted in the U. S. Air Force, where he served for six years (including a year spent in the military hospital in Massachusetts recovering from a broken neck he suffered in a jeep wreck). While he was in the military, Jack was stationed at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, and Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, Massachusetts. He was a flight engineer and rose to the level of Master Sargent. Jack flew on many planes, but he flew the C-46 transport aircraft most frequently. Jack said he "flew all over the country." He spent countless hours flying with pilots who came to the base to get in their necessary hours. Since he was single, Jack would volunteer to go on trips that the married guys did not want to take, including going to New Orleans for Mardi Gras and flying with one of the pilots to see his family in California. He probably would have gone to serve in the Korean War, but for the fact that he was in a Massachusetts military hospital with a broken neck. Jack spent his last days at the Mississippi State Veterans Home in Oxford, Mississippi, where he received loving care and attention from his family, Encompass hospice caregivers, and the Veterans Home staff.

Work. Farming has always been in Jack's blood. He loved working the land, watching things grow and harvesting them. Over the years he and Sue accumulated farm, pasture and timber land. Jack and his cousin, Bo Knight, owned and operated a farm supply store in Slate Springs for a number of years. They also were in the carpentry/home building business with Mr. Carl Hardy for several years. Jack and a few others owned the cotton gin in Bellefontaine. But all of this was not enough - he decided to get into politics and ran for Supervisor of Beat 2 – defeating a multitude of opponents the first time and several after that, serving for twenty-four years before retiring while he was President of the Board of Supervisors.

Character. Jack was generous to his church, family, friends, and the community. Many a person has knocked on his door to ask "Mr. Jack" for some money – sometimes to bury a relative, other times to get someone out of jail, or other times just for money to survive. Numerous people sought his wise advice over the years. Jack was witty with a great sense of humor, with many little quips, like calling someone a "humdinger". He liked to say "Praise the Lord, Hallelujah, and Happy New Year!"

Church. Jack was a man of great faith. He went to various churches depending on where he lived growing up, but for most of his life, he attended Fellowship Baptist Church in Bellefontaine, where he taught Sunday School and served as a Deacon.

Mason. Jack was a longtime member of the Masons – Adelphian lodge #174 in Bellefontaine. He recently received his 75-year service pin.

Family. Family was very important to Jack. He was a wonderful son to his parents, and stayed close to his extended family, visiting relatives on Sunday afternoons, attending Beck reunions at memorials, and going to numerous events for his children and grandchildren. Jack and Sue loved having all of their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren around as often as possible. Jack was the best son, husband, brother, father, grandfather, uncle, relative, and friend anyone could ask for. Jack is survived by his loving wife, Sue, along with his five children and their spouses, Ken Knight and his wife, Debbie; Lynne Green and her husband, Walter; Susan Dyjak; Cynthia Jankowski and her husband, Tom; and Denise Redfearn and her husband, James. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Marguerite Knight, Kyle Knight and his wife, Amanda, Daymond Knight, Josh Green and his wife, Leigh, Aubrey Green, Susannah Green, Chad Dyjak, Mary Kate Jankowski and her husband, Tom, Jack Jankowski, Adam Redfearn and Matt Redfearn. Jack was a proud great grandfather to London Dyjak, Terry Marshall Knight and Kinley Knight. Jack is also survived by his sister, Ruby Maxey, and her daughter, Dianne Kirksey.

Donations. Memorial donations may be made to Fellowship Baptist Church Building Fund; Mississippi State Veterans Home Veterans Clothing Fund – Oxford, Mississippi; North Union Cemetery; or Bethany Cemetery.