Obituary of John and Marilyn Knight

John Knight, age 73, of Toms River, NJ, passed away on April 15, 2023, after a long illness and Marilyn Knight, age 72, also of Toms River, NJ, passed away from a broken heart on May 18, 2023- two days before what would have been their 50th wedding anniversary. John and Marilyn began dating in Brooklyn in 1965 and were inseparable for 58 years - until their deaths 33 days apart. Both are graduates of St. John’s University in Queens, New York. After retiring from a long career as a software engineer, John achieved his childhood dream and became a history professor at Brookdale Community College where he worked for about 10 years. Marilyn was most recently a professor in the Nursing Department of Ocean County College. Prior to that, Marilyn was an elementary school teacher and stay-at-home mother. Marilyn and John were huge Mets fans. Marilyn would record all of the Mets games and they would only watch them if they found out that they won - which means they didn’t watch a lot of games over the years! However, for the past 15 years, John and Marilyn’s true passion was showering their five grandchildren with love- Patrick, age 15, Ava, age 14, Matthew, age 12, Aria, age 7, and Tristan, age 2. They were the best grandparents in the world. From babysitting, to sleepovers, to dinner dates, to holidays, to watching their games from the sidelines, they literally lived to make their grandchildren smile. In return, they were immensely loved and adored by their grandchildren. Patrick fondly remembers going to “Keith Hernandez Day” at Citifield with Grandma and seeing Grandpa on the sidelines at every single one of his games (oftentimes showing up an hour before Patrick’s team even got there). To this day, Ava tells everyone- without hesitation- that her best friend is ”Mima” and her favorite food is “Mima’s Meatloaf.” Matthew is eternally grateful to Grandpa for giving him his beautiful curly hair, blue eyes, and love of New York Mets baseball. Aria loved her time at Grandma and Papa’s house- playing together, planting flowers, and eating strawberries and cheese. Tristan will forever be told stories of his special days with Grandma and Papa, especially playing with the big garbage truck that Grandma lovingly bought for him. John and Marilyn are survived by their three loving boys who were their entire world- Jonathan, Jimmy, and Jeffrey and their three daughters- in- law - Allison, Jennifer, and Danielle. Marilyn and John are also survived by Marilyn’s brother and sister-in law- James and Lisa Mchugh of Brooklyn, NY and John’s sister- Margaret Struck of Mount Vernon, Washington. John and Marilyn will be forever loved and forever missed. Services for John and Marilyn will be private. In lieu of flowers or donations, please hug your loved ones extra tight tonight in their honor and take a minute to remind yourself to appreciate every moment that you are given.