Verna Knowles, incredibly loving mother, #1 grandmother, and such a good friend to so many, died on April 12, 2021 in Winter Park, Florida at the age of 75. She was born in Wilmington, Delaware on November 22, 1945 and stayed in the area until moving to Florida in 2018 to be close to her eldest son and his family.
Verna was a truly wonderful woman that was loved, is missed, and will always be cherished. Our “G”, as she was called by her granddaughters, was an amazing mother, wife, grandma, and friend. She would truly light up a room when she walked in and made everyone enjoy life more when she was around. Verna is survived by her two sons, Chip Pollock (Marcy) and Max Teets, two granddaughters, Taylor and Logan, and her sister Phyllis Lillard. She is preceded in death her husband, Evans (Bo) Guequierre, and her sister, Diane Kanakis, both of whom we miss dearly.
Verna lived life to the fullest. One of the many lessons she passed along to her family was to always work and play harder than others (and don’t skimp on either). She passed this along not only in words but by her actions. Verna achieved professional success through a tremendous work ethic coupled with a personality that turned clients and co-workers into close friends. Of course, she was bright (attending University of Pennsylvania) and had a great mind for numbers (something she did not pass on to her two sons). She started her own bookkeeping company in the 1980’s and turned the company into a great success. One of her clients ultimately hired her full time which culminated in her taking over as Chief Financial Officer of Kalmar Investments.
Although work was important to her, family and friends were really what mattered. She spent many years on the tennis courts playing singles and doubles with her friends. Her love of tennis was passed on to her family and she had her son (Chip) out on the courts at age 5. Both of her granddaughters play tennis today regularly whipping up on their boyfriends (which made “G” smile). She also had a love for travel and vacations. Her favorite places include Stone Harbor, Vero Beach, Bermuda, NYC, the Swiss Alps, and the California Wine Country. Whenever she went to one of her favorite places, she would always make sure family or friends were there with her. One of the most notable trips was to NYC for Thanksgiving. Verna had booked brunch for the family at a restaurant that overlooked the Macy’s Day parade. The issue was trying to cross the main street of the parade route just ahead of the start of the parade to get to the restaurant. After at least 30 minutes of attempting unsuccessfully to cross, she broke down and started to cry. An undercover police officer came up and asked what was wrong. After explaining the situation, the police officer escorted Verna and her family down the parade route. That was the first and likely the last time her family will ever get to lead the Macy’s Day parade. On the same trip, Verna hosted Thanksgiving dinner at the Plaza Hotel for her family. She proceeded to lead all of us in singing Christmas carols, making music with the water glasses, and blowing into empty bottles to make sure the singing was appropriately accompanied by make-shift musical instruments. Somehow Verna was able to talk her way out of the Plaza restaurant staff from removing us for being too raucous.
While she loved her family so much, there was an incident in a grocery store in the 1970’s where she “accidentally” ran a grocery cart into her son Chip. Any time Verna and Chip would go into a grocery store from that day forward there would be a fight over who got to push the cart and at least one attempt bumping the cart into the other. And it would always end in Verna and Chip laughing like it was the first time this ritual occurred. Silly things like that will be missed.
Verna’s love of her family included her dogs. She had a particular love for Labrador Retrievers. Chablis, Murdoch, and Noel were all her “fur kids”. Noel, the last dog Verna owned, was rescued from Canine Partners for Life. Noel was on her way to being a guide dog but couldn’t get past her need to chase squirrels. Maybe that’s why Verna and Noel were perfect for each other. In a dog’s world there is nothing more fun than to chase a squirrel. In Verna’s world she could not stop herself from chasing the fun things in life.
We should all think about a quote from the Author, Mitch Album, when thinking about Verna. “Life has to end. Love doesn’t.” Even through your time (Verna, Mom, “G”) on earth is over, the love that we all have for you is forever in our minds and especially in our hearts. Watch out for the grocery carts in heaven!
Donations in Verna Knowles’s memory can be made to Canine Partners for Life (k94life/org/give) or Alzheimer’s Association (alz.org).
Partager l'avis de décès
v.1.9.5