Remembering Craig Knock

Just received this email from Bernie Hendricks via Paula (Hoffman) Platz:

Craig Knock passed away 12/27/09 one day short of his 59th birthday. He had a heart attack on 12/24/09, just after swimming his daily laps at the Y. This was a guy of tremendous talent and gifts. He was a skydiver, underwater diver, world traveler, snow boarder and great friend. He leaves behind his wife Michelle, sons Josh and Paul, sisters Kay, Patty and Kim and brother Kent. Arrangements are pending, possibly will be Jan. 9 or 10th in Rapid City
　
Craig Knock, Teacher, AKA “The Nutty Professor”. Bill affectionately tagged Craig that Nutty Professor after years of being educated by the “Big Guy”, another tag he had for him. A visit at Craig’s meant a look through the microscope, the compost, a journal article or a taste of a nutritious vitamin concoction or something so exotic as dehydrated sea water. He was the consummate researcher, analyzer, challenger, and explorer of everything important in life. And it didn’t stop there, he was a passionate learner, and an equally passionate “teacher”, always excited to share his vast knowledge. And like any great teacher, he was always checking for understanding, “Did you read that article I gave you (your latest assignment) or listen to that CD or check out the website? No one could be in Craig’s presence without learning something new. He approached every day of his life with a gigantic appetite to learn and to share.
I sent Craig the same directions to my parent’s country home as I did to all my other friends I had invited to a pre-reunion party at my parents home in 1989. But Craig was the only one who called for more specific directions. He was the only one who wanted to know where the power lines were. I didn’t leak a word to any of our friends. The party was is full swing; there were the old friends, spouses and children gathered for a picnic full of reminiscing when a plane started circling the yard. It took only seconds before I saw the guys looking skyward and saying, “It has to be Knock”. And then the children started running towards that parachute dropping from the sky right into the middle of our picnic. There he was, the guy we loved for always amazing us.
All of Craig’s family can cherish the pride he had in them. As much as he loved to teach, he loved to see his family benefit from whatever he could teach them, diving, snowboarding, landscaping, gardening, pond making and so much more. He wore his love for Michele, Josh, Paul, Kay, Patty, Kim, Kent and his mother in law as proudly as he wore his purple socks. It was so evident as he shared stories of his interactions with them. His love for his parents came through in his reminiscing of times past. Although we found out his physical heart was not so perfect, his emotional heart was one gigantic, perfect heart. His love and generosity to friends and family could not have been more perfect.
He extended his pride to his employees also. We heard praises of Ted and Guy from Craig. He taught them well and they were a part of his success in his business. They were more than employees; they were friends and a source of pride to him.
Craig Knock, the Explorer and King of Adventure. Could anyone love seeing the world any more than Craig? What a gift he gave in sharing that adventure with Josh, his sisters and Michele, by taking them to places many of us would not think to explore in our lifetime.
If only he could have been president to straighten out this crazy country. He certainly had an opinion on what those… “Idiots”…. in DC were doing wrong. He was passionate in his political views and thrived on letting you know exactly what they were. He was never one to be meek in anything, especially not in politics. Whether you agreed with him or not, you had to love the passion he had for his beliefs and his love of debate. I never had the pleasure of being in the company of Craig and his mom and siblings at the same time, but according to Vern, it was usually an intense verbal exchange of ideas and opinions in rapid fire. Something described by Vern as everybody talking at the same time, yet still hearing whatever the others were saying at the same time. As we all know there was no lack of intelligence among the Knock clan, and that intelligence just spilled out from them.
Intelligence, love, generosity, strength, pride, oh so many positive traits we admired in him. I feel so privileged that he confided in me his love for Michele from the time he met her. As we would ride the chairlift together, he spoke so highly of this woman he met at dance class. I saw a softer side of the Big Guy when he talked of Michele. Then when we finally met the mystery woman, we loved her too. I remember how he beamed when we met them for supper in Deadwood and he had something to show us…the ring on Michele’s left hand. He had found the love of his life, and she hers. They packed a tremendous amount of love in those five too short years of marriage. She made his life complete; we saw a more settled Craig after Michele. She was the balance he needed. He enjoyed seeing her on her snowboard, learning all he could teach her. Never one to brag about all the talent he had in so many things, he enjoyed the right to brag about how Michele could carve those boards.
The dynamite days will never be forgotten among the friends from the class of ‘69. I shall not put in writing exactly what the dynamite days were. Hmm, lets see, bridges, old houses, and carp come to mind. We would all be in prison should we do those dynamite activities today. Perhaps when Craig meets his old chemistry teacher Guy O. Karnes in heaven, he will remind Craig again to “Just be careful with that stuff.” And if there was a sign that said Do Not Enter, Danger, that was an invitation to Craig and his followers. The Rochford Mine was a yearly event, Craig, Vern, Mark among others hanging from the rafters in a condemned mine, with me cringing in fear of their antics in a place marked Danger, Keep Out.
Did you ever know you were my hero, everything I wish I could be? That would be the song; those are the words I would sing to Craig. He was everything many of us wish we could be. He loved a challenge, had no fear, live-on-the-edge kind of guy, let nothing get in his way of adventure and the adrenalin rush. Dive out of an airplane or into the ocean, fly a plane, ride the snow like a 20 year old, he did it all. He leaves us too soon, but he leaves his mark on all of us. His heart beats still in all of us, he shared his heart with all of us. To be more like Craig, take some chances, go the extra mile, be generous, never stop learning, never stop seeking new information and share…especially share love in a big burly way.
When we got that call with the bad awful terrible news of Craig’s heart attack, I could not conceive of my world without Craig in it. Given some time I have realized, my world will always have Craig in it. Knowing Craig, having the gift of his friendship is everlasting. I have known Craig for over 40 years, my husband has known him 20 years, and we agree, he has impacted who we are and we are better people because of Craig. He taught us well. 20 years ago when I said to Bill, “You have to meet my friend Craig”, I knew they would click and click they did. As we all have, he has lost a dear friend. Whether it be all of his almost 59 years, 40 years, 20 years, or 5 years, it is a great loss to all of us, to the world he cared so much about. So long dear friend, skydiver, see you in the sky.
　

Our Condolences

Our prayers and sympathy are extended to Sue (Kattke) Pulford of Sioux Falls. Sue's mother passed away on Christmas Day. Below is the obituary from the Dec. 27 edition of the Sioux Falls Argus-Leader:

Regena Kattke of Oldham, SDPublished: December 27, 2009
Oldham - Regena Kattke, age 83, died at the Madison Community Hospital on December 25, 2009.Regena Mae McAdaragh was born on April 4, 1926 at DeSmet, SD to James and Loretta (Smith) McAdaragh. She married Leo Kattke at Oldham on June 4, 1947.She is survived by her husband - Leo of Oldham. Two sons - Dan of Sierra Vista, AZ, Tim (Vicki) of Watertown. Six daughters - Dianne (Doug) Quinn of New Hampton, IA, Susan (Bill) Pulford of Sioux Falls, Mary Ann (David) Appel of Redfield, SD, Jane (Randy) Lee of Madison, Joan (Greg) Huus of Sidney, NE and Kay (Kevin) of Pierre, SD. 21 grandchildren and four great grandchildren.She was preceded in death by her parents, one brother and one sister.Funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 AM on Tuesday, December 29, 2009 at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Madison with Rev Robert Vinsaluski officiating. Burial will be in St. Catherine Cemetery at Oldham.She grew up in Howard and Oldham where she graduated from high school. She taught school in one room school houses in Miner County. She received her degree from General Beadle (DSU) and a masters from SDSU. She taught in Lake Benton, MN, Lake Preston, Erwin and Oldham. She was elementary principal for Oldham.She was a member of the Rural School Teachers, Oldham Library Board, Emil Loriks Museum Board, SD Historical Society, Board of the School of Visually Handicap and Retired Elementary Principals.There will be a Parish Scripture Service at 7:00 PM on Monday at the Weiland Funeral Chapel which is in charge of the arrangements. To send a message of sympathy visit http://www.weilandfuneralchapel.com/.
Would anyone know if she was related to the McAdaragh family that lives in Brookings? Dan McAdaragh, who was a couple of years behind us in school, still lives here. Dan's father passed away some years ago, but his mother is still listed in the phone book.

Christmas Storms

As many of you may be aware, South Dakota has been hit with a Christmas blizzard. Some reports said it was the worst one since Christmas of 1968, which would have been our senior year. Do you any of you remember those days? That was a stormy winter. The snow banks were so high that you could not see the approaching cars, so people tied red flags on their car antennas so that other drivers could see them at street corners.
If memory serves me correctly, we played Mitchell in basketball during that time (must have been right before Christmas). Joe Jensen , I believe, lived at Lake Campbell. He could not make it in for any practices, but did make it in for Friday night's game. Mr. Thury told me on Tuesday that I would get to start (the first time that had ever happened), and that all I had to do was to just play defense on a certain player (Dennis DeJong)and keep him from scoring a bunch of points. I was able to do that for the first two quarters, but we only had a slim lead at half-time. Mr. Thury reverted to the regular starters for the second half, and we won somewhat comfortably, as I did not play the second half. DeJong only had four points, two in each half, which was considerably below his average. I can honestly say that I worked very hard on defense in the first half, but in the second half, I think Lee Colburn and perhaps Mike Redmond also worked harder than usual and also shut the DeJong down. We ended up winning by about 15 or so, making the coaching staff quite happy.
When the snow finally melted in the spring, the Big Sioux River flooded, of course, creating a lake from Brookings to Volga and closing many of the county roads. Anybody else have any memories of that winter?

Remembering Etta Olson

Do any of you remember Mrs. Etta Olson? Some of us had her for 8th grade history. One of my older brothers had her, also. He said whe was old when she was teaching then. If memory serves me correctly, the first quarter of 8th grade history was spent on civics. Also during the year, we had to memorize the Gettysburg Address. I always thought our 8th grade year was really fun. She passed away recently, and her obituary was in the December 12, 2009 edition of the Sioux Falls Argus-Leader.


Etta F. Olson of Clarkston, WA Published: December 12, 2009
Clarkston - Etta F. Olson, 105, Clarkston, WA.Etta Fern Ervin Olson passed away Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009, at Royal Plaza Care Center in Lewiston, Idaho.Etta was born to Alice Fletcher Ervin and Harry E. Ervin on Nov. 9, 1904, at the family farm near Montrose, SD.She married Floyd Olson at Miles City, Mont. They lived at Garden City, SD, for more than 50 years.Etta was a teacher for 44 years. She began her teaching career in one-room country schools. At the start of World War II, she transferred to Garden City, where she taught in the elementary grades. The last 17 were spent teaching junior high in Brookings, SD. She received her bachelor of arts degree from Northern State University in Aberdeen, SD, and a master's in elementary education from South Dakota University at Brookings.After retiring from teaching, she and Floyd pulled their Avion to Harlingen, Texas, for 20 winters. In the late 1980s, they moved to Clarkston to be near their daughter, Beverly Bea Haugen and family. They still spent winters in Texas until 1993. Floyd passed away in December 1993.Mom was a life member of Eastern Star and enjoyed Past Matrons gatherings. In Garden City, she belonged to the American Legion Auxiliary and the Chat-a-Wee Whist Club. While teaching, she enjoyed the University Women's organization. Etta was a member of the United Methodist Church at Clarkston.After retiring, she had time to play bridge and did so with enthusiasm! She traveled in Europe twice and cruised the Caribbean, Panama Canal and Alaska with family.Survivors include a daughter, Beverly Bea Haugen of Clarkston, five grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.In addition to her husband, Etta was preceded in death by her parents; one brother, Dr. Lindsey Ervin (retired colonel, USAF) of Rome, NY; two sisters, Mohea Ervin Clark of Redfield, SD, and Garnett Ervin Keil of Milbrae, CA; and a granddaughter, Laurissa Lynne Haugen.

That would have made her 60 years old when she taught us. I don't know how much longer she taught after that. Does anyone have any information or stories to pass along about her? What did her husband do? Did anyone ever see her around the community? Was she active in her church?