Jeanne A Mcknight

Jeanne McKnight (nee Altergott) died June 4, 2011, at 92 of lung cancer complications.

Born March 20, 1919, she grew up in Kansas City, Mo., the sixth and youngest daughter of a German immigrant tailor who along with his brothers made the suits for those who bought their hats at Harry Truman's haberdashery. Her mother traced her ancestry back through growing up in a sod house as an early settler of Oklahoma whose uncle was the famous Civil War Gen. Joe Hooker, to ancestors in early Salem, Mass.

Jeanne met and married William J. McKnight at The University of Kansas where she majored in art. As was the custom in those days, except for one year teaching high school art, she was a housewife and mother.

Geographically her life was eventful because of her husband's career in aeronautical affairs. Along with much travel they lived in Kansas City, Miami, Montreal, Cedar Rapids, the suburbs of Washington and New York before moving to Tyler in 1979.

Her passion was babies - she had three of her own and she collected and crafted many more. With the help of a kiln, she sculpted and fired porcelain heads and attached them to bodies and clothes she would sew herself. Unfortunately, it is thought that silicone dust from sanding the doll's heads (before masks were commonly used) contributed to her lung cancer.

In her younger years she taught Sunday school - she was a very religious lady - and later her social life revolved around her church - the First Christian Church of Tyler. Almost every day she walked in the mall with friends and was a regular at a sewing club that met at Barnes & Noble to knit items such as caps for the military and the indigent.

She was predeceased by her husband, William J. McKnight, in 1995. Three children survive her - Thomas in Connecticut, Paul in Virginia and William III in Tyler - along with three grandchildren.

Her body may be viewed at the Tyler Memorial Funeral Home on 12053 Texas Highway 64 W on Tuesday, June 7, 2011, from 6 to 8 p.m. Her funeral is scheduled for Wednesday, June 8, 2011, at 11 a.m. at the First Christian Church.

Arrangements under the direction of Tyler Memorial Funeral Home - Cemetery and Mausoleum, Tyler, TX.