Marlene Knott

As a little girl she wanted to be a nurse but the sight of her brother Walter’s blood when he cut his hand made her nearly faint. As she got older, the landlord in the two-family house in Beechurst where she grew up suggested a job in banking since she was good with numbers. When she graduated from Bayside High School in 1955, she began working at Manufacturers Trust Company. There she met her husband of 66 years, George. They had lunch at the same time, got along well and she looked forward to seeing him. They started to spend more time together. They were married on March 12, 1960, and honeymooned in the Poconos, her first real vacation. They made a home in Flushing, Queens. They had four children. First, a boy, followed by a daughter, and twin girls. She was not prepared for twins and only found out in the hospital after hearing nurses talking about the woman who had twins, suddenly realizing it was herself! She enjoyed a full busy life with her family who moved to Plainview, NY in 1973. She always enjoyed sewing, a craft she learned in junior high school when she had to sew her graduation dress. She made Halloween costumes and matching Christmas outfits for all the girls as well as clothes for herself. She liked knitting and embroidery, tackling a Christmas tablecloth as a gift for her mother. She was an avid reader of fiction and enjoyed taking walks, especially on the Jones Beach boardwalk.

She returned to banking part-time in 1974 working for Lincoln Savings Bank. In 1983, she transitioned to full-time work progressing in her career while working for the successor banks until 1995 when she retired. During retirement, she had been pondering what to do next when the opportunity came to watch her first granddaughter, Chelsea, in 1996. As more grandchildren came along, she was involved in watching all their different activities: Kristen - soccer matches; Madison and Katelyn - dance recitals; Nicholas – baseball and basketball games; and Lauren, the youngest, cheerleading competitions. She shared her love of reading with Chelsea, something Chelsea has carried with her ever since. She enjoyed visiting her Western New York grandsons, George and Kyle, who introduced her to Legos.

She enjoyed hosting family dinners and kept a diary of all the ingredients for the different events: Kale parties, clam bakes, Octoberfest, Thanksgiving dinner, Sauerbraten, and Easter brunch, making her specialty, blueberry French toast. She loved baking Christmas cookies throughout the years, sharing the delicious treats with family and friends.

She enjoyed traveling with her husband and close friends on a variety of cruises and trips around the U.S. and Europe.

In later years she enjoyed working on jigsaw puzzles completing a 2500-piece puzzle along with her husband. She also enjoyed playing board games (Rummikub, Rack-o, Uno), number puzzles (Suduko), a daily Mensa puzzle and Wordle. The last few years she began following her grandsons with an interest in LEGOS, building many LEGO flowers. She liked attending informational talks about plants.

Marlene is survived by her loving husband, son, Philip (Maureen) and daughters Kirsten (Scott), Stefanie (Marc), Caralyn (Robert) and her eight grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers the family requests memorial donations be made to St Jude Hospital for Children or the charity of your choice.