Donald Knight
December 15, 1934 ~ October 6, 2014
Donald Ray Knight, age 79 of Bogota, Colombia, formerly of New Hampton passed away at his home on October 6, 2014.
He was the son of Arnold Ray and Irene L. (Hiserote) Knight. Don graduated with the class of 1953 at New Hampton High School. One week after graduation he enlisted in the Unites States Marine Corp. He served honorably from 1953-1956 and then in the reserves for five more years. Don graduated from the University of Iowa and Cornell College in Ithaca, NY and also studied at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Don was a retired Foreign Service Officer. He enjoyed collecting pipes, foreign affairs and politics.
Don is survived by his wife, Luisa Fernanda Ayala Knight of Bogota, Colombia; his sons, Philip Orie (Terri) Knight of Warrenville, IL, Christopher Arnold (Alma) Knight of Chula Vista, CA and Nicholas Robert (Daniella) Knight of Washington, DC; his two daughters, Alejandra Knight Ayala and her husband, David Brown of Omaha, NE and Paula Knight Ayala and her husband, Chris Sill of Dallas, TX; his six grandchildren, Benjamin, Oliver, Anais, Gabriel, Matias, Isabel and one more on the way. His siblings surviving are, Mavis Levsen of Cedar Rapids, IA, William Knight of Sun City, CA, Richard Knight of Charles City, IA, Carole Severin of Charles City, IA, Merrilyn Knight of New Hampton, IA, Susan Hastings of New Hampton, IA, Roger (Robin) Knight of Waterloo, IA and Dennis Knight of New Hampton, IA; and many nieces and nephews.
Don was preceded in death by his parents and brothers, Robert and Harry Knight.
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To Knight family, We have my sympathy in the loss of your brother. We will keep you in our prayers. Gloria Parks
I love you Uncle Don!
Uncle Don, there was so much more to you than people knew. You were such a quiet, unassuming man in public, but very few people go to see the deep thinking and dynamic person you were in reality. You had this persona of small town polite graciousness, and a privileged few got to see the lion under the persona. When I was little, I wanted to go into the Foreign Service “like my Uncle Don”. Never made it. I will miss our polite disagreements on politics (the way it should be), and our shared deep respect for this country and those who served. I miss you. Gd speed, Marine!
Don will never forget you. Thank you for having shared many years of your life with us in Colombia.
Great father and human being. I still miss his opinions on politics, history and books. We had our differences, but he had a great respect for others opinions. If there is a heaven, I will see you again eventually. I hope you are having a great time! Your wife, Luisa Fernanda
Its been almost five years since my father passed and the pain of it is still immeasurable. I wish I had gotten to know you as well as I had always hoped to Dad. But I like to believe I have part of your personality within mine. I wish our son had gotten to know you as well, to know how similar we may have been as kids. I miss you laugh and knowing your opinion on things. I love you Dad. I cannot find adequate words to say the rest.