Marie Knowles

KNOWLES

Marie Pearl Knowles, 91, passed gently into her full life on December 14, 2015, her last breath only slightly hesitant, as if making sure there was not yet something else she might do for us. It seemed a sweet touch—Mom had suffered the debilitating effects of Alzheimer's disease for over a decade—that her lovely heart would outlive her troubled mind.

Mom was the second of five children (Harvey, Mabel, Lila, Robert) born on February 12, 1924 to Lillian and Harvey Steadman in Meadville, Pennsylvania, all of whom preceded her in death. At the age of eleven, her mother and the five children moved to Cleveland, Ohio. There she met Lorence Knowles, both in their middle childhoods, whom she married on December 12, 1942, and who preceded her in death on May 31 of this year after seventy-two years of marriage.

Mom, at eighteen, saw her new husband immediately swept away into the dark vortex of World War II which would consume him—them—for the next three years. During those war years, she trained and served as an x-ray technician in Cleveland's St. Luke's Hospital, a profession she would still be pursuing a half century later. Along the way, she also earned her water safety instructor's license that played a part in her professional service to children and adults in psychiatric institutions.

Marie is survived by her two sons Lloyd (Debi) and Jeff (Lezlee), grandchildren Kathi Fournier (Michael), Kimberly Anthony (Christopher), Mark Knowles (Danielle), Derek Knowles (Victoria), and Cody Knowles. Great- grandchildren include Aaron, Andrew and Emma Fournier; Kate, Jack and Matthew Anthony; and Elijah Knowles.

In addition to all of her other life roles, we hold Mom in honor as an unsurpassed example of the great "turn-around generation" who not only survived, but redeemed, the hard blows of the last century so that we, and our Faith, might thrive.

Her life will be celebrated with a private family memorial service on December 27, 2015. Contributions in lieu of flowers can be made to the Forest Hills Alzheimer's Center, 2841 E. Dublin-Granville, Rd., Columbus, OH 43231.