Pauline Knight

Pauline Knight, 94 of Winona, died Friday, July 14, 2023 at St. Anne Extended Healthcare.

Pauline Gaye Larimore was born on March 14, 1929, in LeRoy, Minnesota to Paul Wesley Larimore and Ruth Elizabeth [Malcomson] Larimore. She was a dearly-cherished only child.

She grew up in LeRoy and attended the First Baptist Church, where she met little Harland Knight in the preschool Sunday school class. She attended LeRoy public schools, which Harland also attended when he outgrew the one-room country school. They graduated together in 1947, and then Pauline attended the U of M for a year. She quit school to marry Harland in 1949 after the death of his father.  This townie girl turned into a farm wife, and they farmed together until 1954. In 1951, Harland had a farm accident just before the birth of their first daughter, Arlene. In 1954 a second daughter, Diane, was born and a month later they moved to Leroy to operate a hardware store. Pauline, the former townie, cried when they sold the last cattle. Harland started a job in Austin in 1956, and she ran the store with the help of two little girls until 1959. Diane grew up in a playpen in the store, where she could remove a slat to leave to cruise the aisles, or to return for her nap. Pauline sent five-year-old Arlene to the bank down the block at the end of the day, as she couldn't leave the store.  During this time they also opened K&K Drive-in, where her dear sister-in-law Ruthann made french fries from scratch every day. Pauline’s passion for education was first expressed when she successfully campaigned to start kindergarten in the LeRoy schools. The family eventually moved to Austin in 1959. The whole family was thrilled when John was born in 1965. She was active in too many organizations to list. Pauline and Harland were active in political organizations wherever they lived. Pauline was a devoted daughter, wife, mother, and eventually, to her delight, a grandmother and great-grandmother. Pauline was active in many local, as well as state, organizations. They moved to Winona in 1973, where Harland opened a branch of the Judd Company. She quickly became active in many community organizations there - especially involving education.

Summers were her favorite time, as she enjoyed gardening and the presence of the grandchildren in their swimming pool. The Compton boys,    John, Paul, and Peter, went up to Wincrest every afternoon to swim and always found fresh cookies at grandma's house, which they referred to as "Grandma's Pool & Cookie". Her very best days were when the Christensen kids, Ben and Bethany, arrived from Colorado to enjoy the sun, and then the Knight kids, Paulie, Hannah, Daniel and Johnny, came down from Saint Paul too. There were great picnics in the gazebo with wonderful potato salad and, of course, lots of dessert. The whole family gathered around the pool for those wonderful days in the sun, and the grandparents were as happy as they could be.

Harland and Pauline loved Winona dearly and contributed in many ways to their beloved town. As Pauline's health declined, they eventually moved into Callista Court, where they enjoyed both old and new friends. They and their family are grateful for the loving care they received there; they especially enjoyed being voted king and queen of Valentine's Day one year. It was very difficult for them when Pauline had to move into Saint Anne's and they couldn't be together 24 hours a day. But Harland was a familiar sight in the hall, whizzing along on his scooter, spending all day with her anyway. He preceded her to their eternal home on June 1. They had often talked about their heavenly home. The last song we know Pauline was able to sing was "Jesus Loves Me", which they often sang together at night. Pauline finally joined him on July 14, with son John by her side.

She is lovingly survived by her beloved sister-in-law, Ruthann [Richard] King, her three children, Arlene [Jeffrey] Compton, Diane Knight, and John [Dianne] Knight. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 73 years, Harland , and their great-grandson Geoffrey Compton

Funeral Service will be 11 a.m., Saturday, July 22, 2023 at Hoff Celebration of Life Center - Goodview with the Reverend Joe McConkey officiating.  Visitation will be 10 a.m., until the time of the service.  She will be laid to rest at Woodlawn Cemetery.

To view the livestream of Pauline's service, please follow this link: https://view.oneroomstreaming.com/index.php?data=MTY4OTQ2NTMyOTI2MTg1OCZvbmVyb29tLWFkbWluJmNvcHlfbGluaw==