WHEN DAISY Knight's son Ronald would tell her about a trip he had to make on business, she would look wistful and say, "Oh, I wish I could go."
Eventually, she did go. She became, in fact, an inveterate traveler, taking cruises to the Caribbean and flights to Hawaii and to European cultural meccas.
Her son had accumulated frequent-flyer miles, and he and Daisy, her other son, Charles, and grandkids, would turn those excursions into family events.
Daisy first exhibited the travel bug in her youth, when she would drive around the U.S., including her native Georgia, where she would visit family and childhood friends.
Daisy Knight, who had a passion for caring for others, including terminally ill patients, was a devoted churchwoman and a dedicated family matriarch. She died Oct. 29 at age 88. She was living in Skippack but had lived most of her life in West Philadelphia.
She was born in Roberta, Ga., to Felton and Bessie Howard. Her first church experience came when she joined Shiloh Baptist there at the age of 12, and was baptized and attended Sunday school.
Daisy arrived in Philadelphia at 16 and lived with her older sister and brother-in-law, Mattie and Frank Miller, until she met and married Charles Knight, a truck mechanic, in 1951.
For a time, she worked as a switchboard operator at a city office building, then became a health-care aide for United Way, going to the homes of the terminally ill to help them any way she could with her natural love and compassion.
Daisy's first church in Philadelphia was Mount Carmel Baptist. In 1984, she joined Calvary Baptist, where she became a member of the senior choir.
In 1997, she joined Word of Life Baptist Church, 1208 S. 23rd St., where she served as an usher and a member of the Praise and Worship Choir. In 1999, she was made deaconess and pastor aide.
Even after she moved to Skippack, Daisy remained active with the World of Life Baptist Church, where she was made a Mother of the church.
One of her favorite hymns was "I've Been Redeemed":
He's coming back to take me home.
I'll shout 'Hallelujah!' before his throne.
All my sins are washed away.
I've been redeemed.
"She had a strong, outgoing personality," Ronald said. "She was very independent. She cared a lot about people - of all ages."
Younger people would seek her out at church because she always had a listening ear and would give wise advice.
Besides travel, Daisy loved to sew and was an avid reader.
Her husband died in 2000. Besides her two sons, she is survived by eight sisters, Ezell Felts, Marie Davis, Jean Battle, Elaine Hollis, Ardell Howard, Williemae Wonnum, Thelma Woods and Louise Baker; a brother, Calvin Howard, and two grandchildren.
Services: 11 a.m. tomorrow at the Word of Life Baptist Church, 1208 S. 23d St. Friends may call at 10 a.m. Burial will be in Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery, 3727 Baring St.
