Wilda Mabel Knight

She was born somewhere in the county of Beadle, South Dakota on August 26th, 1921 and moved to Salem, Oregon with her family of eight in a Studebaker when she was 20 years old. She was married to the love of her life, Robert “Paul” Knight on September 19th, 1942. They brought their only daughter, Phyllis into the world almost seven years later. After her husband passed away 25 years ago, she lived in Florida and Italy with Phyllis and Gary, before eventually relocating back to Salem to be close to her friends and extended family.

Wilda held many jobs throughout her working life from working in the cannery, cleaning houses, handing out samples in the grocery store, with her sweetest dab of kindness sprinkled on every sample given. She was awarded President’s Club many times by AVON for supporting her friend’s and family’s beauty care needs. Rest assured, nobody in Wilda’s family ever had to be without lip balm.

She was a member of the Eagles Club where she sharpened her card playing skills to become one of the most winningest card players among her family and friends. Her winning ways extended beyond her regular card game playing to include Uno, Skip Bo, Bingo, Bean Bag Baseball and so many more. So much so, that at her last residence, Southern Hills, residents nicknamed her “Winning Wilda”. She had a passion, along with her husband, for traveling in their Camper, often visiting Garibaldi, OR, overlooking Tillamook Bay, which was the scene of many adventures or camping and fishing their way down to Yuma, AZ to soak up the sun enjoying the snowbird life for many happy years.

She also had a passion for great food and as a result became an incredible baker and chef and was gifted at spoiling those around her with culinary delights served with love, for more than eight solid decades! She gifted those around her with amazing homemade clam chowder, delicious fried catfish, trout, salmon, razor clams, or crab that she often caught herself. She canned her own veggies, fruit, and meats and as a child growing up in the depression, never wasted a drop of food. Over her lifetime, she made so many incredible berry cobblers and cookies, if stacked in a room it would likely fill up an entire Costco! She really loved to fish and unfortunately for the fish, she was VERY good at it. She knew the catch limits by heart, and she made sure to max them out more often than not.

Despite numerous attempts to “bring her home” over the years; like her bout with Pleurisy when she was seven and then at again at age 80, a quadruple bypass that was only supposed to give her up to seven years. Instead, the good lord graced us with more than 100 years of devoted love to her family, filling their lives with reasons to feel gratitude for all the kindness experienced along the way.

She is survived by her loving daughter, Phyllis Marleen Baldwin (Gary Baldwin) her grandson, Brock Justin Brady (Callie Brady) and her great grandchildren, Braxton James Brady, Bennett Robert Brady, and Cassiophia Lynn Brady along with many local nieces and nephews in Salem, Oregon, and extended family members too, who all loved her dearly and visited with her often.

We are confident and grateful that she’s joyfully reunited with her beloved Husband, Sisters, and Mom, likely fishing some beautiful lakes, and putting a whooping on whoever she is playing cards with while gratuitously enjoying some sweet candy treats. Wilda Mabel Knight, you are already dearly missed by all of those who love you. Rest well.

A funeral service will be held at 1pm Wednesday June 1, 2022, at Belcrest Memorial Park.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.hed-fh.com for Wilda's family.