Donald Knight

Donald Stephen Knight
April 1, 1930 – August 9, 2014

With great sadness, the family of Don Knight announces his passing on August 9, 2014. Don was born in Souris, Manitoba and was the eldest child of Cliff and Nora Knight. Don grew up in St. Vital Winnipeg and attended Glenlawn Collegiate. In Winnipeg he was an Air Cadet as a youth and belonged to DeMolay which provided valuable leadership skills and friendships. He moved with his family to Vancouver in 1949, where he worked for Eaton’s and a bank before joining BC Tel. Don enjoyed his career with BC Tel, taking on a wide variety of management roles during his more than 30 years of service, living in many communities throughout BC and also in Ottawa, and making many good friends wherever he worked. Don retired from BC Tel to be the Director of Public Affairs for the Telecom Canada Pavilion at ‘Expo 86’, the World’s Fair hosted in Vancouver in 1986. He enjoyed that job immensely and always said it was a terrific way to finish off his career. Don was made a life-long member of the Telephone Pioneers of America in 1986.
Don married his high school sweetheart Melva in Winnipeg in 1955, and Don liked to tell the story of their honeymoon trip driving back to Vancouver which somehow exceeded the cash in Dad’s pocket. Luckily their friends Bob and Donna had room for Don and Melva to stay for a little while. Don and Melva lived downtown at first, enjoying life in the big city and kicking up their heels at dances at the Commodore Ballroom with their friends. As they raised their three children, they also moved many times, making wonderful, life-long friends in Vancouver, Nelson, Ottawa, Kamloops and Coquitlam. Don and Melva made annual trips to Winnipeg to visit family and friends and to attend school reunions. They also built a family cabin at Queen’s Bay on Kootenay Lake next to Hugh and Mabel, took annual trips to Hawaii with a great group of friends including Ted and MajBritt, travelled across Canada and to different parts of the world with Hugh and Mabel, and immersed themselves in community life in every place they lived.
Don was an athlete all his life, winning a provincial discus championship in his youth and local curling and golf titles later on. He loved football as a young man and his family rarely saw him without a football in his hands when they lived in Winnipeg. He enjoyed lawn bowling in recent years, and continued to win at bridge and cribbage much to the dismay of his grandchildren who were always sure they were going to beat Grandpa this time. Don was an active Rotarian for more than 40 years. He served as President of the Nelson Rotary Club in 1972/73 and was made a Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. Don also served on the Board of the Douglas College Foundation. More recently, Don volunteered on the Deercrest Strata Council with friends Bill and Alice, Lenore and many others.
Don had a wonderful life and will be dearly missed by his daughter Nancy (Randy), son Doug (Toni), grandchildren Nicolas, Natalie, Lindsay and Clayton, sisters and brothers Shirley (Kate), Rhey (Eileen), Barrie and Patricia (Lawrence), sister-in-law Sybil, brother-in-law Bob (Joanne) and many cousins, nephews and nieces. Don was predeceased by his wife Melva and son Greg (Teresa). A service to celebrate Don’s life will be held Friday September 5 at 2 pm at the Burquitlam Funeral Home located at 625 North Road, Coquitlam BC. In lieu of flowers, a donation to the Canadian Cancer Society or a charity of your choice is appreciated.