Mama D's Life 2000

We recently had to make a trip to Mississippi, which is
usually a time of great excitement and fun. This trip
however had to be made for the worst possible reason,
we lost our grandmother Mama D. I have never felt
such pain in my heart as I did when I walked into
the funeral home and realized what I hoped was a big
mistake was actually true. Not only did I lose my
grandmother, but the world lost one of the few true
caring people. A person that always put her family
and anyone else in need above her self. Even though
I did not see her as much as I should, and I very
seldom gave her a call, it felt good knowing that she
was always there. I miss her very much. The last time
we spoke was on March 4, 2000. She had recently
suffered a stroke, was in the hospital, and I just
wanted to check on her, I had no doubt that she
would beat this and she would soon be back to her
normal self. She wanted to talk about me and we never
mentioned her stroke. When I heard her voice, slurred
and weak, I began to cry. Then she began to cry. I feel
it wasn't because of her pain, or because she felt sorry
for herself, but because it hurt her that I was in pain.
The one regret I will carry for the rest of my life is
that I did not rush to see her or did not call her again
after that one call. But this last call was a special one,
the last thing I told her was that I loved her and the last
thing she told me was she loved me. I will always love and miss her.

The following was read by Pamela Stafford at Mama D's funeral:

Mama D was born 86 years ago. She was the oldest
child, with three brothers and one sister. Two of
her brothers are here with us today. Mama D married
at a young age to Daniel Knight, and they soon started
their family. Over a period of 20 years, Mama D had
five boys and four girls. Her husband died before
Mama D gave birth to her last son, leaving her to
complete the raising of her children alone. Mama D
was one of the most unselfish people I ever knew
and loved. When her children were still at home, fried
chicken was a favorite family meal. When it came time
to serve yourself, Mama D always took the back portion
of the chicken saying that it was the best piece. Her
children knew in their hearts that she wanted them to
get the better pieces.

Mama D worked hard over the years and did whatever
was necessary to support her children, at times
enduring factory work that was extremely tedious.
After close to 20 years, all of her children had
started families of their own and Mama D was able to
take a little time for herself. She loved to travel, and if
anyone said let's go somewhere, she was ready to
pack her bags. Her favorite places to visit were
Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. She also loved a
good game of cards. Anyone close to Mama D knew
if they were in the mood for cards, they could just
go to Mama D's house and in minutes enough people
would be there to start at least one table of Rook,
Spades, Rummy, or whatever the favorite game of
that time happened to be. One quote I have often
heard is well, I know you are one of the Knight
children. You all look so much alike. There is
one brother in the family that people claim must
have been adopted. If you look close in the
face, you can see the resemblance, but he is much
thinner than the rest of the clan. We all know why
he is so much smaller. He moved to Texas, away from
Mama D's good cooking and the force feeding that
she put any one through while at her house. It didn't
matter if you ate a full meal before you visited her, she
always insisted that you look hungry hon, and
immediately began to fix you something to eat.

It is hard to remember Mama D without a smile on her
face, with a great sense of humor. Her laugh was
contagious. She never complained, she never griped.
If you went to her house in a bad mood, you always
left feeling everything was right with the world.
Mama D had a special love for all babies and children.
Till just before she died, in her mind, she was still
cooking and caring for her children. I know that
Mama D felt God had blessed her with her brothers and
sisters, 9 children, 17 grandchildren, 31 great
grandchildren, 4 great-great grandchildren and dozens
of family members by marriage. But, all of us know
that we were the ones that were truly blessed by
having her in our lives for the time that we did.

We love you Mama D. Our lives and hearts will never
be the same without you.

Thank you God for sharing her with us.