Janice McKnight Aug. 11, 2024 Memorial service for Janice Birdsong McKnight, 80, of Nacogdoches will be held at 3:00pm on Saturday, August 17, 2024 at Grace Bible Church with Pastor Brent Bullard officiating. Visitation will be held prior to the service, beginning at 2:00pm Janice was born in Beaumont, Texas, the daughter of Morris and Frances Mauritzen Birdsong.
From a young age, she was taught strong Christian values and carried those values at the core of her life. She graduated at the top of her high school class. During her senior year, she met a young man who quickly became her soul mate and best friend.
She and Bob McKnight went to Tyler Junior College together where she proudly became an Apache Bell. They then moved to Nacogdoches to attend SFA where she finished her undergraduate degree and obtained a Master Degree in Education. Janice and Bob were married on June 30, 1963 and have spent the past 61 years making beautiful memories together.
They became the proud parents of two boys who they graciously watched as they grew into fine young men and married women who completed them. This was always a dream of Janice’s and when those boys became fathers, her heart overflowed with joy as she became a grandmother. She was the shining epitome of a loving wife, mother and grandmother who enjoyed nothing more than being surrounded by her family.
She was kind, compassionate and a superb listener. She was a hard worker and diligently supported Bob and the family during each moment of their lives. She led by example and shared her love of Christ to all those around her.
These exceptional characteristics were only a few of the things she will forever be remembered for. Janice taught 5th grade at Raguet Elementary before she and Bob built a very successful family business, of which she proudly took the helm, alongside her husband. When they were able, traveling became a passion for the two of them.
The early years of sleeping in the woods on a tarp with a mosquito net turned into joining the ranks of the vacationers in travel trailers. Janice loved being outside and always found a reason to fish or take a walk to enjoy the fresh air and beautiful things that God created. Janice is survived by her loving husband, Bob McKnight; sons, Roger McKnight & wife, Linda and Wes McKnight & wife, Natalie; grandchildren, Macey McKnight-Whitney & husband Jon, Hadley McKnight Brown & husband Nathan, Indie Evangeline McKnight and Rhodes Everett McKnight and her brother, Thomas Edward Birdsong & wife, Barbara.
She is preceded in death by her parents and her aunt, Florence Mauritzen. The McKnight family would like to give special thanks to Kathy DeLaPaz, Pam Channel and Peggy Coronilla for their compassionate dedication during Janice’s illness. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Janice’s memory to the scholarship that she and Bob set up at SFA for young married couples (Bob & Janice McKnight Scholarship Fund c/o SFA Alumni Association, SFA Box 6096, Nacogdoches, Tx 75962 or to Grace Bible Church at 2305 Raguet, Nacogdoches, Tx 75965.
.
