T. Deane Knight

Thelma Deane Knight (Deane), 89, a proud and loyal woman who valued her family, friends, and her faith, passed away February 9, 2011, in Phoenix, Arizona, following a stroke.
A Celebration of Life service will be held Wednesday, February 16, at 11:00 a.m. at First Baptist Church of East Moline. A visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the church. Burial will take place in Greenview Memorial Gardens. Esterdahl Mortuary & Crematory, Ltd. is assisting the family. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Deane's honor to the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona, or First Baptist Church of East Moline
Deane was born in Sallisaw, Oklahoma, on April 20, 1921, the daughter of Howard and Ollie McLaughlin Glenn. She grew up in Coffeyville, Kansas during the height of the Great Depression and graduated from Coffeyville High School in 1938. While in high school, she met Barron "Bard" Knight in her tenth grade English class and they were married March 5, 1940. He died on January 16, 1988. She married her longtime friend, Robert Eddleman, on March 15, 2003.
After World War II, Deane and Bard moved their family from Kansas to the Quad Cities to find work, eventually settling in East Moline. While her children were growing up, Deane stayed at home to care for her family. She was an insatiable "joiner", however, and became very active in the PTA, The Order of the Eastern Star, and the First Baptist Church of East Moline.
As her children grew up, graduated from college and began careers of their own, Deane longed to pursue her own education that had been cut short following her high school graduation. As a grandmother in her forties, Deane began attending college in 1965, earning her Associate's Degree from Black Hawk College. She went on to earn a Bachelor's Degree in Education from Augustana College and began her career teaching English and Journalism at Riverdale High School in 1969. She eventually retired from teaching in June 1982.
Following retirement, she enjoyed many winters in southern Texas and continued to independently make the trip South each year after becoming widowed. Although retired, she continued to challenge herself intellectually and she became a published author at the age of eighty-one, writing a novel about her experiences growing up in the Great Depression. She was also a freelance writer and correspondent for the Moline Dispatch. At the time of her death, she had just begun to write her first children's book.
In addition to her passion for writing, she was involved in many volunteer activities throughout the Quad Cities. She was an active member of First Baptist Church for over sixty years and served her church in numerous capacities. She was active in the Rock Island County Democratic Women's Party and loved a good political debate. She volunteered at the Midwest Writing Center, Meals on Wheels, Christian Friendliness, and the CUMC Food Pantry. She also provided tutoring services to many individuals throughout the years and her gift of teaching was felt by the many lives she touched.
She loved politics, golf, exercising, and travel, but her greatest passion was her family. She is survived by her husband, daughter and son-in-law, Donna and Bob Hamrick, Coal Valley; her grandchildren, Michele (Ed) McCann, Cedar Falls, Iowa, and Scott Hamrick, Milan, great-grandchildren, Madison and Cade McCann, Cedar Falls, Iowa; her husband's children and grandchildren, Diane (Greg) Moroni, Dawn Eddleman, Kristin, Keith (Agnieszka), Kevin, and Kara Moroni; sister-in-law, Karen Murphy, East Moline; brother, Dale Glenn, Arizona, and numerous nieces and nephews.
She is predeceased by her husband Bard, son Michael Knight, sisters Juanita Chavez and Betty Pentony, brother Howard Glenn, Jr., and her parents.