(July 9, 2008)—More than 1,500 mourners including firefighters from dozens of departments attend funeral services Wednesday for Teague Volunteer Fire Department Chief Robert Knight, 42, who died Saturday night in a Tyler hospital after he was injured in a wall collapse while battling a business fire late Saturday afternoon in the small town of about 4,700.
The mourners filled the sanctuary of Teague’s First Baptist Church Wednesday morning.
Video of the service was fed across the street to monitors in two rooms of the church’s Family Life Center, which was also filled to capacity as residents and fellow firefighters said farewell to the man who devoted not only his time, but also his money to the Teague Volunteer Fire Department for nearly two decades.
The United States Flag of Honor, which has been sent around the world in honor of fallen heroes since the 9/11 attacks in 2001, was flown to Texas aboard a donated jet for the funeral.
The flag was flying over the Texas Capitol at the time of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 and has since been used continuously to honor fallen American heroes around the world.
After the service at the church, bagpipers played as Knight’s flag-draped casket was placed on a Teague Fire Department truck at the head of a long procession that included dozens of trucks from other departments as well as the motorcycles of the Patriot Guard.
Knight was laid to rest in Teague’s Greenwood Cemetery.
Knight is survived by his wife Teri Jo, son Trent, and daughters Layla and Laura.
In lieu of flowers, the family requested that memorials be made either to the Teague Volunteer Fire Department, 400 Cedar Street, Teague, TX 75860 or to the First United Methodist Church, 420 Walnut Street, Teague, TX 75860.
Knight, a 1988 Texas A&M graduate and a engineer for the BNSF Railroad, was nearly a lifelong resident of Teague, and his death touched many in the small town deeply.
The online guest book provided by Bowers Funeral Home in Teague is filled with 26 pages of expressions of grief and condolence from friends and neighbors, as well as from firefighters from as far away as Camp Victory in Baghdad.
“You could feel his energy and exuberation when he entered the room,” one couple wrote.
“His three loves were his family, his fire department, and his Aggies. And he would gladly tell you about any of them. He was a great friend to us all and he will be dearly missed.”
“The whole town of Teague is in shock and will never be the same,” another couple wrote.
Residents, some holding flags, silently lined the loop to Bowers Funeral Home in Tyler as a procession of fire trucks escorted Knight’s body from Tyler back to Teague Monday night.
Knight died Saturday night at a Tyler hospital, just hours after the front wall of a burning auto body shop collapsed on him as he kicked in the front door to try to douse the flames of the fire raging inside the business.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the fire, but officials say it could take weeks to pinpoint the cause.
On Monday, investigators sifted through the rubble of the business and interviewed witnesses.
Bowers Funeral Home Web Site
Honor Network Web Site
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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