Anne Knight
Jan. 12, 1944-March 25, 2020
Palo Alto, California
Anne Knight of Palo Alto passed away March 25, 2020 following a nearly 3 year battle with cancer. She is survived by her two sons, Ben and Daniel.
Although born in St. Louis, Anne grew up in Boise, Idaho, an incredibly sharp, motivated student. She advised her parents not to buy a TV, as she instead preferred to read, participate in innumerable extracurricular activities and compete in track. She ended up with a scholarship to Harvard, and completed there undergraduate, Master’s and Ph.D (ABD) degrees in English Literature. Early in her career she became a journalist in New York City and years later would regale friends and family with tales from her assignments--one of them an interview with Steve Rubell, the founder of Studio 54, the legendary nightclub, who then invited her to the club as his guest.
Anne's toughness and indomitable spirit were apparent well before she had to deal with raising two rowdy boys. Anne wanted girls, by the way, and due to her own skillful touch, and yes a bit of luck, was able to deftly impose on her unsuspecting sons a hint of those daughters that might have been. To this day, if you look at family photos atop the piano, you will see a portrait of young Danny and Ben wearing dresses carefully made by Anne who contended they were "frocks." Needless to say, Ben and Danny's friends would get a laugh (and sometimes a quick photo tag on Facebook) thanks to those frocks.
Anne moved to California when her sons were just beginning elementary school and she held marketing positions at many of Silicon Valley’s prominent tech companies. But her love was teaching. And so, around 2008, she left the corporate world behind in pursuit of what many would call the American Dream: starting her own business and getting paid to do what she loved! Anne Knight, Marketing Communications Manager became Anne Knight, writing coach and small business owner. Her morning commute became the 20 foot walk to her dining room table where she would help primarily high school students improve their writing, craft their college application essays, and score high marks on SAT’s writing section, Anne tutored hundreds of students, enhancing their writing ability, critical thinking skills and capability to earn acceptance to many of the nation’s most competitive universities and prestigious graduate degree programs. Her students loved her and soon her calendar was booked solid, months in advance, all from referrals.
Despite her illness, over the last couple of years, Anne continued to teach, walk with friends, spend time with family and most certainly read, especially her beloved New York Times. She traveled, first with family to Hawaii, then to Berlin and Budapest and last year to Kyoto and Tokyo. Despite being ill, she was indefatigable and nearly walked her son to exhaustion through countless museums, gardens, and historical landmarks.
Given the new restrictions on travel and gatherings, prudence dictates that we postpone any memorial observance for Anne. Nonetheless, we want to thank everyone for the many kindnesses and support each of you showed Anne and our family throughout this stressful and trying time. Our mother knew she was very loved and for that we are deeply grateful.
Tags: teacher/educator
