Harold Leo McKnight, 94 was born December 26, 1925, to Harley John McKnight and Sophia Irene (Hollinger) McKnight, at home in Adams Township, Darke County, Ohio.
He died unexpectedly Saturday, November 28, 2020 at his home.
He is survived by his wife of seventy years Eileen nee Good, they married in May 1950, children: Belinda (McKnight) Rismiller, Scott McKnight and Colleen McKnight. A sister Virginia (McKnight) Ullery of Ansonia, sister-in-law Myrtle McKnight, grandchildren: Rachel (Denver) Wellman, Morgan (Matthew) Aultman, Sgt. Ian (Tiffany) Rismiller, Emily (Craig) Oliver, Elizabeth (Mike) Knisely, Elijah (Ashley) Oliver and Ethan (Chelsea) Oliver and twenty great grandchildren, one great great grandchild, numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
He is preceded in death by his parents, brother Robert McKnight, son-in-law David Rismiller and brother-in-law Jack Ullery.
He attended Gettysburg School and as a young boy he trapped muskrats and hunted raccoon with a kerosene lantern and went to Canada to work in the wheat fields at the age of 15.
He was drafted in the U.S. Army and served from September 1944 to June 1946 where he was in the 34th tank battalion 5th Armored Division and were known as Patton’s Ghosts and the Victory Division. The battalion was stopped forty-five miles from Berlin when the war was over in Europe. He was shipped out to Japan but the Atom bomb was dropped and WWII was over.
Before he was drafted he worked at Hartzell and Aero-Products and WACO. After the war he did construction work and some farming, got married, worked for companies that built Houston Woods Lodge and the Greenville City Building. He and Eileen also built and operated Rustic Hill Market. He also worked as an apartment maintenance man and at Berstrum Air Force Base in Texas. Also, a telephone lineman in Greenville and Arizona.
He is a member of Dawn Community Church and Greenville VFW.
Visitation will be on Wednesday, December 2, 2020, from 5:00 PM to 8:00PM, with the funeral on Thursday, December 3, 2020, at 2:00 PM at Zechar Bailey Funeral Home, 1499 North Broadway, Greenville, Ohio. Interment will take place at the Oakland Cemetery.
Donation in lieu of flowers can be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105, or the charity of your choice. Arrangements entrusted to Zechar Bailey Funeral Home, Greenville, Ohio.
Online condolences at www.zecharbailey.com.
