Knight, R. Dennis
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of R. (Dennis) Knight on Friday, December 2nd 2011. Dennis as he was known to everyone, leaves behind his beloved wife of 53 years Lily Alice Knight (nee Greig), daughter - Angela (Edward), sons - Allan (Diana), Roderick (Suzanne), Darrel (Leslea) and brother Donald (Verna); grandchildren - Alicia, Alexis, Cody, Matthew and Victoria. Family was always very important to Dennis. His ever loving devotion to his wife Lily and also like a father to sister-in-law Lenore, was the bond that he gave direction to the family. Dennis always found time to support the interests of each one of his children in a way that made them all feel special. When it came to grandchildren, you couldn't find a more proud Papa as he was known. The grandchildren always put a sparkle in his eye and his patience and kindness will always be with them. It was very telling that even in his final days he was doing his best to be the head of the family and comforting us when we were trying to look after him. His unconditional love and support for us will live on and never be forgotten. Dennis and Lily had a very successful electrical contracting business which specialized in computer cabling for financial institutions. As any one of his customers or employees would tell you, his word or hand shake was as binding as any document, and his sense of integrity and honesty were the traits that made him so successful in business as in life. Dennis could have taught Donald Trump a lesson in the art of the deal as he was always looking for the next thing to sell or auction to go to. He loved to teach his protege Cody about how to negotiate an even better deal on something. It is comforting to hear someone say that they have no regrets. Dennis, when he was reflecting on the life he has experience always loved to say that he was so lucky to have the opportunities he did. Whether it was travelling to far off places such as Russia or China or exploring the North of Ontario in his favourite float plane, he always had a sense of wonderment. His love of the outdoors and especially cottaging on the Severn River led him to take up flying. Dennis would load up the dogs into the plane and head up to the cottage. He was so proud of his Cessna 185 AMPHIB and was to his family the best pilot there was. Dennis never did really retire. He was just as busy in retirement as when he was in business. His farm near Craighurst was his pride and joy and time spent there was so relaxing that the up keep didn't seem like work. His life at the farm had a sense of purpose every day and no matter what piece of machinery might break it was always fun to figure out how to fix it. Cancer is a disease which may take a life but it isn't something that can take your spirit. Dennis will always be with us and hopefully we can build upon the values and love that he brought to us all. We miss you Dad and love you so much and he will be deeply missed by the “love of his life” Lily. Friends will be received at STECKLEY- GOODERHAM FUNERAL HOMES, 30 Worsley Street, Barrie (705-721-9921) on Tuesday from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. Service will be held on Wednesday at 11 a.m. Donations to the Royal Victoria Hospital Foundation would be appreciated by the family. Online condolences - www.steckleygooderham.com