Rev. William Orman Knight, 91, of Clarkesville, died March 3 from complications associated with vascular dementia.
He was born June 5, 1924, at Pinedale, the Knight family home place outside Clarkesville. The first child of Floyd Sweet and Eula Evelyn (Gibbs) Knight, Orman would eventually be joined by four brothers and six sisters, whose parents homeschooled them. In 1941 he became Habersham County’s first Eagle Scout, and as a teenager took metalworking classes at what is now North Georgia Technical College.
The family attended Clarkesville Baptist Church (CBC), and at an early age Orman dedicated his life to Christian service as a preacher and missionary. He received his ordination at CBC in 1943. In his college years, first at Brewton-Parker in Mount Vernon, Georgia, and later at Mississippi College, he gained experience as a young preacher by filling in at churches in Georgia and Mississippi. After earning his B.A. in English, he enrolled at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, where he earned a Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1950.
On June 5, 1946, Orman married Mississippi native Margaret Julia Bibb. He served his first full-time pastorate in Laurel, Mississippi, and two years later accepted a position at a church in downtown Chicago. Having chosen the Philippines as their mission field, the Knights became affiliated with the Conservative Baptist Foreign Missionary Society, and in 1959 set sail for Manila.
They spent 13 years in the Philippines, where Orman helped establish eight churches and several theological seminaries, produced numerous influential publications, and served as mission field chairman for seven years. Most important were the relationships he established with Filipino believers such as Colonel “Papa” Domazo, a Bataan Death March veteran who led some 200 others to the Lord.
On furlough between their three terms in the Philippines, the family lived in Cornelia. During this time, Orman began buying land near what is now Orchard Road north of Clarkesville, and there he and his sons built a log cabin that became a family retreat.
After returning to the States for the last time in 1976, the Knights lived in Habersham County for three years before moving to the Atlanta area. In 1981 Orman accepted a pastorate in suburban Chicago, where he and Margaret would remain until his retirement. Returning to Habersham in 1992, Orman began work on the Highlands, a subdivision near The Orchard that he planned, developed, and administered. He also served as supply preacher to a half-dozen congregations in north Georgia, most notably Bethlehem Baptist in Dahlonega.
Margaret died from complications associated with Alzheimer’s in 2002, and in 2004 Orman married Reggie Ann Davis of Albany. The couple went on to enjoy many happy years that included trips around the country and the world. In 2009 he returned for the last time to the Philippines, where the effects of his work decades earlier continued to be felt.
Preceded in death by his son Jon, killed in a 1981 car accident, Orman is survived by Reggie and his four living children, along with their families: Thomas, who lives in Alto, his daughter Dana Knight Fain (Josh) of Hamilton, Alabama, and children (Courtney, Bre, Jackson, Holland), and son Drake; Anne of Somerville, New Jersey; Jon’s widow, Becki Pierce of Demorest, and daughter Narra DeMichina (Dominic) of Atlanta and her daughter Gemma; Joseph, who resides in Dunwoody with wife Lourdes and sons Dylan and Alex; and Judson, who lives in Madison with wife Deidre and daughters Tyler and Riley.
Rev. Knight is also survived by his three stepchildren and their families: Ronald Davis, Jr., of Alexandria, Virginia, along with his wife Charlotte and their son R. J.; Roxanne Davis Allen and her husband William, of Leesburg, Georgia, and their children Meghan, Matthew, and Becca; and Robert Davis, who lives in Cumming with wife Ginny and son Reagan.
Five of Orman’s siblings preceded him in death: Carol, who died from polio as a child; Stanley (Julia) of Clarkesville; Brantley (Helen) of Atlanta; John (Betty) of Demorest; and Patricia (David), also of Demorest. He is survived by siblings Virginia Bonnette (Del), a resident of a Cleveland nursing home; Jackie Eastham (Fred), who lives in Cornelia; Charles Knight (Elaine) of Clarkesville; Brenda Graham (Charles) of Cairo, Georgia; and Suzanne Dover (Bill) of Hollywood. Orman also leaves behind dozens of nieces and nephews, and many more grandnieces and grandnephews.
Memorial Services were held on March 6 at 2 pm at Clarkesville Baptist Church (Pastor Grady Walden officiating), with a family graveside service afterward at Pinedale.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association or The Gideons International.
Funeral arrangements by Hillside Memorial Chapel & Gardens, Clarkesville. 706-754-6256.
