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Nan L. Knight

Nan Lucy Knight, 73, of Saranac Lake, died Friday, Feb. 23, 2018, at Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake.

Nan was born in the family home on the St. Lawrence River in Waddington on March 13, 1944. She was the fourth child born to her parents Ada and Antonio Rose. During her early childhood the family moved to a farm in Madrid, New York, and welcomed four more kids bringing the sibling total to eight with six girls and two boys.

Nan fondly spoke about life on the farm and the opportunities she had to spend time with her grandmother and grandfather Sheets. While on the farm, Nan learned how to sew and crochet which she continued to enjoy her entire life. In the early 1960s, the Rose family moved to Saranac Lake, where Nan attended high school. In Saranac Lake, she met the love of her life, James C. Knight, Sr., whom she eventually moved to the Bronx with and married on Aug. 8, 1964. While living in the city, the young couple frequented Yankee Stadium often during the Mantle era. The couple also traveled many places with her parents on vacations that seemed to be more like adventures. Nan worked at Bronx Municipal Hospital Jacobi Medical Center Albert Einstein College of Medicine as an X-Ray File Room Clerk until the birth of her only child, James C. Knight Jr., in 1974. At that point, she became a homemaker and enjoyed family life.

She was a competitive spirit who had success on the bowling lanes, winning many league and tournament awards dating back to the late ’60s and continuing to as recently as this past December. She also enjoyed spending time with family typically playing pinochle or other games. She grew to love and enjoy sports as a result of her husband, and became her son’s biggest fan who at one point introduced the sound of a cowbell to the stands of a football field in the Bronx. Anyone who met her immediately knew how proud she was of her son and eventually her grandchildren. She became “mom-Knight” to many of her son’s friends, classmates, teammates, and coached players over the years for the support she gave them all.

Nan was predeceased by her husband of almost 50 years in May of 2015; her eldest sister Carole Raymo in 2017; a sister in-law Katherine Knight-Perry; a brother-in-law Clark Knight; a brother-in-law Jack Knight; and sister in-law Peggy Knight.

She is survived by her son James C. Knight Jr., his wife Sara J. Matthews-Knight, and their twins Anika Grace Knight and Nolan James Knight. She is also survived by her brother-in-law William Raymo; her sister Marilyn Snyder; her sister Lillian Moon and her husband Richard; her brother Ron Rose and his wife Diane; her sister Linda Martish and her husband Don; her sister Connie Rose; her brother Nelson Rose and his wife Teresa; and cousin and partner in crime Janet Fletcher; as well as many nieces and nephews.

Calling hours will take place from 3 to 6 p.m. Thursday, March 1 at the Fortune-Keough Funeral Home in Saranac Lake. A funeral service will immediately follow at 6 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Patrick Ratigan officiating. Burial will take place in Pine Ridge Cemetery in Saranac Lake in the spring.

Friends wishing to remember Nan L Knight may make memorial contributions to the Saranac Lake Volunteer Fire Department or the Saranac Lake Volunteer Rescue Squad in care of the funeral home. Family and friends can also share their memories and sign the online guestbook at fortunekeoughfuneralhome.com.