By Clif Knight  

I remember my mother as an extremely hard-working woman who rose above meager circumstances to become a patient and understanding mother who raised seven children and lived out a Christian life to age 95. 

My memories of her surfaced on Mother’s Day when First Baptist pastor Dr. Clayton Speed devoted his sermon to the subject of mothers and the impact they make in the lives of their children. He opened his comments to the contributions of four members of his congregation. One of them was my 81-year-old brother, George Knight. 

Some of the attributes she used to describe our late mother were: She exemplified hard work and taught its value to all of her children, she was a gifted craftsman who excelled in styling and making clothes for family members, she was a talented cook who was well known for her ability to fry chicken and bake fried fruit pies, She was slow to anger but capable of disciplining five boys when they misbehaved, she was She was a devoted Christian who took her family to church anytime its doors were open.  

Ruby Perry Knight was born on August 6, 1911, as the eighth of 15 children born to Daniel Bascum Perry and Susan Francis Brown. Her ancestors immigrated from Ireland in the late 1700s or early 1800s. 

Her dad was a sharecropper. The family moved from farm to farm pretty often. He never owned his own home until 1948 when he bought a few acres and built a small house there. He married twice after his first wife and outlived them both. He died in November 1970.  

Happy Mother’s Day to you all.