Donald Holmes McKnight was born June 26, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York. His Father, Albert McKnight, Sr., worked as a cook on a ship in the Navy and his mother, Althea Holmes McKnight, was housewife and mother. He nursed his Father through pancreatic cancer when he was 19. He met and married Bernadette Roolf while he was going to Duquesne University in 1955. Together they raised eight children, five boys, Donald Jr., Gregory, Stephen, Eric and Damien, and three girls, Deborah, Stephanie and Daria, moving from Green Ave, Hemstead, New York to Babylon, Long Island, as the family grew. He managed Intercounty Computing for many years, traveling two hours from Babylon to Brooklyn each day, to support his growing family and helping put them all through college. When he and Bernadette divorced in 1980, he quit Intercounty and ran a bar called Casablanca for five years.
When his brother, Father Albert McKnight, a Spiritan priest, asked him to come to Opelousas, Louisiana to help with a growing black parish in 1986, he brought his business skills to help the black grocery his brother founded, and taught computer skills to the youth of the parish.
He met Carolyn Krantz there in 1986-7 while she was facilitating women's spirituality groups and editing for Father McKnight. They marched together 60 miles to Baton Rouge on a racial school issue, meeting 2000 people on the steps of the capitol. They moved to Oakland,California in July of 1987 and married in 1991. They lived in Concord and finally settled in Antioch, CA , where Donald taught Computer Science at Los Medanos Community College for 21 years. Carolyn worked for four non-profits before working for St. Peter Martyr, a Spanish Catholic Church for 11 years, Catholic Charities of the East Bay for 7 years and for St. Ignatius of Antioch for 6 years. During that time, they enjoyed trips in the RV with their dogs and the weather along the Delta.
In his final years, Don had 6 seizures causing them to sell the house, boat and RV and to move to Twin Creek Apartments in 2017, where he passed away in the early morning of August 17, 2022 one day before his brother's birthday, which they celebrated in heaven together. Carolyn was privileged to lovingly care for him and see his difficult decline, especially in the last six months. She was aided by his three daughters, Daria, Deborah and Stephanie, who live in the area and by special visits from his male children, two of whom are doctors.
She is grateful for the other caregivers, Pat Roberts, Amanda Ettlin and Emanuel Emanuel from All Occasions Homecare, and for the assistance of many people from Kaiser Hospice. A celebration of life will be held at St. Ignatius of Antioch at a future date.
