Jack Knott

At Stars & Squares Forever, 1994

Jack Vinton Knott Jr
15 Sep 1944 - 09 Nov 1997

Clubs & Associations

Obituary

KNOTT, JR. Jack V.
On November 9, 1997, JACK V. JR., devoted life-partner of Dave Yocum, beloved son of Virginia E. Knott and the late Jack V. Knott Sr. "Pete", loving brother of Thomas Knott.

Friends are invited to call at the Burgee Henss Funeral Home, P.A. 3631 Fall road, on Tuesday from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M. Mr. Knott will lie in state on Wednesday from 5 to 7 P.M. at St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1900 St. Paul street. Services will follow at 7 P.M. Interment private at Parkwood Cemetery. Those desiring may make contributions to Moveable Feast, P.O. Box 22248, Baltimore, MD 21203.^[1]

Jack V. Knott Jr., 53, teacher, principal in Baltimore schools
By Robert Hilson Jr.
Sunstaff
Jack V. Knott Jr., a Baltimore teacher and school administrator who tried to instill at least "a little bit" of knowledge in each student daily, died Sunday of hepatitis at John Hopkins Hospital. He was 53.

Mr. Knott taught in the city school system since 1969 and was principal of Joseph C. Briscoe High School, a special education school in West Baltimore.

"He was a wonderful man and a wonderful teacher," said Ruth Robinson, a longtime friend and math teacher at Briscoe High. "He always tried to understand you as a person — whether it was a student o faculty."

A husky, bearded man, Mr. Knott was known as a clam laid-back educator who seldom raised his voice or became angry. However, he made sure students that once they entered the school, they were there to learn.

"He was the kid of teacher that meant business but showed it in a nice way," said Jerome Spradley, a student at the old Carroll Park High School in 1985, when Mr. Knott was principal. "He always showed he was concerned and cared about the kids in school."

Although Mr. Knott was serious about education, he found opportunities to join students in enjoying themselves. Among other events, he was fond of the annual Hat Day at Briscoe High.

"He was involved in all of the activities, but he liked Hat Day," Ms. Robinson said. She recalled that he proudly wore a tall, Mexican straw hat through the halls during a recent Hat Day. "He made it known to them [students] that 'Yeah, I enjoy the fun, too.' "

"But mainly he was just concerned about the children learning. He was please if a child left the classroom with just a little bit of new information."

A native of Baltimore who lived in Otterbein, Mr. Knott graduated from Baltimore City College high school in 1962 and the University of Maryland in 1967. He later received two master's degrees, one in administration from Loyola College and the other in special education from Coppin State College.

He served in the Army from 1968 to 1969 during the Vietnam War. In addition to combat duty in Vietnam, he taught Vietnamese children to speak English.

Mr. Knott's teaching career began in 1969 at the old Houston Woods Elementary School. He later taught at Greenspring Middle School and Robert Poole Middle School and headed the special education department at Patterson High School.

He headed the career development program at Northwestern High School and was principal at Carroll Park from 1984 until it merged with Briscoe High in 1989, when he was named principal of the combined school.

In addition to his school activities, Mr. Knott sang with the Handel Choir and worked with the Special Olympics.

Mr. Knott was one of the original homesteaders in the Otterbein community near the Inner Harbor in the early 1970s. He bought a four-story shell of a house and converted it into stylish living quarters.

"He had a great love of the neighborhood," said George Robbins, a neighbor and former president of the Otterbein Community Association. "The neighborhood was pretty desolate and hadn't developed. It was fairly adventurous to buy then but he did and it worked out."

Service were Wednesday.

Mr. Knott is survived by his mother, Virginia Knott; a brother, Thomas Knott; and a longtime companion, David Yocum. All are of Baltimore.^[2]