Catherine Baker Knoll, 1930-2008 A life of service

Well done, good and faithful servant. Those words come to mind when thinking of Catherine Baker Knoll, Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor, who died Wednesday after a battle with neuroendocrine cancer, a rare form of the disease first diagnosed in early July. She was 78.

Knoll dedicated her life to serving Pennsylvanians. The former schoolteacher was state treasurer eight years before joining Gov. Rendell on the Democratic gubernatorial ticket and being elected the state's first female lieutenant governor in 2002.

"She opened up doors for women in politics in our state that had been closed before," said Franklin and Marshall College political science professor G. Terry Madonna. Rendell called Knoll "one of the strongest, most dedicated public servants in Pennsylvania's history."

Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) pointed out that Knoll helped spearhead the effort to create Pennsylvania's Tuition Account Program, which has made it possible for thousands of young people to attend college.

Education meant a lot to Knoll. So did politics. The eighth of nine children, she was born in McKees Rocks, a working-class town near Pittsburgh, where she cut her teeth politically campaigning for her father, a baker who became mayor.

Knoll gained many friends during more than 40 years in public service. But she had detractors, too. Some commented on her age - 72 - when she became lieutenant governor, wondering if she could ably serve if Rendell had to leave office. Knoll was roundly criticized three years ago for passing out business cards at a Marine's funeral.

Such criticism never fazed Knoll. "I'm steel inside," she once told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "You have to be or you couldn't be in this ballgame. . . . I'm a steel woman from the Steel City." Steely, maybe, on the outside. But Knoll couldn't hide the soft heart she had for the people of Pennsylvania, whom she unflinchingly served.