Mac Knight

Mac Jay Knight, 92, of Hagerman, Idaho, passed away Sunday, October 20, 2013 after a short illness incident to age, at the North Canyon Medical Center in Gooding, Idaho, surrounded by loving family members. He was patient, courageous, articulate, sharp, and witty to the end.

He was anxious and eager to rejoin his beloved Ruth who passed away in 2007, along with his daughter Sanet and parents and grandparents who predeceased him.

Recently, someone who had only known Mac a few brief hours aptly summed him up by saying: "I've only just met him, but he is a person I will remember forever." Mac had a special way with people and cultivated many friends who remained true and loyal friends for life. Mac knew no strangers. He quickly engaged whomever he met in conversation, always finding common ground and a warm and witty exchange. He was a gifted storyteller who mesmerized family and friends with his riveting, slightly embellished stories!

True to his cowboy heritage and roots, he enjoyed ranching, horses, cattle, rodeos, and cutting horse competitions, and has left a legacy of cowboy ethics and practices for his growing family, now into the third generation. In 2009 he was honored at the Spanish Fork rodeo as the last surviving founding member of what is now the Diamond Fork riding club and one of the original founders of the Spanish Fork rodeo.

Mac was an only child born to Evelyn McBride and Frank Theodore Knight, April 24, 1921 in Provo, Utah. He grew up on his Grandfather Knight's 800-acre ranch in Kamas Valley, Utah, where he learned the cowboy trade and developed a love for horses and ranching.

He graduated from Lincoln High School in Orem, Utah, the class of '39, and enjoyed annual class reunions with close friends for over 65 years.

Mac attended BYU College in Provo for one year, taking animal husbandry classes. It was there that he met his true love, Ruth Brown from Spanish Fork Utah. They were married June 14, 1941 and sealed in the Salt Lake LDS Temple on June 14, 1955. To their marriage were born five children-Roger James (Doriene), Glade Mack (Kathleen), Sanet Renee (died in 1968), Frank Jay (Tomie), and Jill Colleen (Mitch Stowell). His surviving posterity includes 18 grandchildren and 44+ great-grandchildren.

Mac was proud of the fact that he worked for a short time in Arizona, where he owned and operated his own heavy equipment, clearing and leveling the land to build auxiliary airports.

During his life, Mac owned and operated ranches in Kamas and Roosevelt, Utah, and dairies in Granger and Farmington, Utah. His Paramount Dairy milked 400 Holsteins and 100 Jersey cows and became the largest A-grade milk base in the state of Utah. In 1972, Mac moved to Idaho where he worked for FMA, originating their dairy cow leasing program. Later, he owned and operated a ranch in the Hagerman Valley with his son Frank, where he resided at the time of his death.

Mac, Dad, Grandpa . . .we will remember you always with loving hearts and warm memories and will "cowboy up" and "ride for your brand!"

Friends and family are invited to a visitation and viewing in Hagerman, Idaho, Friday, Oct. 25th, at the Hagerman LDS Church, 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 26th, at the Stonewood 2nd Ward Chapel, 575 South 400 West, Orem, Utah. There will be a viewing at 10:00 a.m., prior to the funeral. Interment will be at the East Lawn Memorial Hills Cemetery in Provo, Utah, following the service. Arrangements are under the direction of Farmer Funeral Chapel in Buhl, Idaho.

The family has established The Mac and Ruth Knight Cowboy Ethics scholarship fund at Southern Virginia University. If you wish, you may make a charitable donation. Please make checks payable to Southern Virginia University, mail to 814 East Main St Richmond, VA 23219.