Thomas Knight - 2010
MHS 1963 Graduate
Thomas G. Knight, Class of 1963, was nominated by his sister, Ruth Ann Miller, and Dr. Robert Hines. He graduated from West Texas State University in 1967 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology. He was able to finance his education by returning home each summer to work for Gibson and Grable Construction Company of Canton.
After his college graduation Knight was drafted into the US Army. He completed eight weeks of basic training at Fort Knox and was then assigned to a 16-week intensive training program at Fort Hood, studying basic Vietnamese language and interrogation techniques. From there he was assigned to the Central Highlands in Vietnam where he was an interrogator of Vietnamese prisoners of war. He received various medals including the Army Commendation Medal for Service and the Vietnam Campaign Medal. By 1969 he had attained the rank of Specialist E5. He was then honorably discharged from the US Army and returned to Minerva.
In 1970 Knight worked as a Stark County social worker under the Aid to Dependent Children Program. Next he accepted a position with the State of Ohio as a State Liquor Control Agent. There he was responsible for all code enforcement of laws pertaining to the sale of liquor in Ohio with emphasis on the sale of alcohol to minors. From 1972 to 1975 Knight continued in government service at the federal level with the FBI. In 1976 he transferred to the Department of Energy where he worked as a budget analyst in the Comptrollers office until his retirement in December 2001.
After retirement he worked part time as manager of a health and fitness center. Then in 2002 he accepted a part-time position with Dunbar Armored as a courier.
Knight has also had time for community service. He is a member of the Alexandria Old Town Civic Association, the Carpenter Shelter, and participates in food delivery to the city homeless shelter.
Ruth Ann Miller said that Dr. Robert Hines has been a great influence on her brother's life. That Knight has been a wonderful brother and son to his four sisters and his mother Jane Knight Anthony. He is a very giving and generous person as is his wife Colleen. He and Colleen now live in Alexandria, VA.