The Honorable H. Brent McKnight Judge McKnight, 52, passed away Saturday, November 27, 2004 at Presbyterian Hospital. Born February 20, 1952 in Iredell County, NC, Judge McKnight was the son of Dr. Harold F. McKnight and Martha Helms McKnight....
I knew Brent at Myers Park and Chapel Hill. He was a tremendously accomplished man, winning top scholarships to both Duke and UNC. So sorry he was taken so early.
While Brent and I were not close in High School, I admired him for his intelligence - always outstanding in every academic endeavor. I will never forget his kindness to me when my mother died right at Christmas in 1992. Her funeral was on Christmas Eve day and Brent came! As I said, we were not close at Myers Park, yet he showed up to offer condolences. That is the kind of man he was.
In 2003, my next-door neighbor, here in Seattle, was a young single mom of 4 children with a substance abuse problem. Her 13-year-old son had stepped up to be mommy’s little man and carried the weight for his mom and sisters (aged 15 to 2 years old). This young man was a huge fan of UNC basketball. I went looking for a team poster for him. I discovered that Brent was highly involved in the Alumni Association and reached out to him out of the blue. I had not seen him since high school.
Brent sent a thoughtful letter plus a giant color poster of the team autographed by every team member and personalized for my neighbor. Brent must have been ill at the time, but I was unaware of that. He passed less than a year later.
I am not sure why these remembrances of Brent have emerged now (I guess I missed something), but I find them very touching. Brent was a close friend and my debate partner in high school, and while I initially considered him pretty nerdy (like me, I guess) in Jr. HS at AG, as I got to know him better, it was clear what a remarkable person he was, with a dynamic intellect, broad curiosity, and intense integrity. Debating the National Forensic League selected topic for 1969-70--"Resolved that Congress should prohibit unilateral military intervention by the US in foreign countries"--with him as my partner was a seminal MPHS experience for me and ended up permanently shaping my worldview. The world certainly became a smaller and less interesting place when we so prematurely lost him.
William "Bo" Efird
RIP Brent.
Bo
Robert Steven "Bob" Williams
I knew Brent at Myers Park and Chapel Hill. He was a tremendously accomplished man, winning top scholarships to both Duke and UNC. So sorry he was taken so early.
Louise Gordon Upchurch (Johnson)
While Brent and I were not close in High School, I admired him for his intelligence - always outstanding in every academic endeavor. I will never forget his kindness to me when my mother died right at Christmas in 1992. Her funeral was on Christmas Eve day and Brent came! As I said, we were not close at Myers Park, yet he showed up to offer condolences. That is the kind of man he was.
Louise Upchurch Johnson
Rebecca Blanton (Blanton)
I will remember his kindness to strangers.
In 2003, my next-door neighbor, here in Seattle, was a young single mom of 4 children with a substance abuse problem. Her 13-year-old son had stepped up to be mommy’s little man and carried the weight for his mom and sisters (aged 15 to 2 years old). This young man was a huge fan of UNC basketball. I went looking for a team poster for him. I discovered that Brent was highly involved in the Alumni Association and reached out to him out of the blue. I had not seen him since high school.
Brent sent a thoughtful letter plus a giant color poster of the team autographed by every team member and personalized for my neighbor. Brent must have been ill at the time, but I was unaware of that. He passed less than a year later.
Rebecca Blanton
Samuel Manley "Chip" Butler III
I knew Brent since first grade. He was always very, very smart.
John Munroe Douglas Jr
I am not sure why these remembrances of Brent have emerged now (I guess I missed something), but I find them very touching. Brent was a close friend and my debate partner in high school, and while I initially considered him pretty nerdy (like me, I guess) in Jr. HS at AG, as I got to know him better, it was clear what a remarkable person he was, with a dynamic intellect, broad curiosity, and intense integrity. Debating the National Forensic League selected topic for 1969-70--"Resolved that Congress should prohibit unilateral military intervention by the US in foreign countries"--with him as my partner was a seminal MPHS experience for me and ended up permanently shaping my worldview. The world certainly became a smaller and less interesting place when we so prematurely lost him.