David Knight

“DK” always loved a good joke. One of his classic jokes was about the Honeymoon salad. He’d often try to order a Honeymoon salad in any given restaurant and then ask “What is a Honeymoon salad? Why it’s lettuce alone, without dressing.” It was one of many jokes he had in his arsenal for almost any situation. He loved to make people laugh and his positive energy could be felt everywhere – even as he battled cancer for the last 16 months.

David G. Knight, 72 of Binghamton NY passed away peacefully on September 7, 2022 at his daughter’s home in Illinois surrounded by his family after a long and courageous cancer battle. “DK”, as he was called by family and friends was a longtime Binghamton resident and he lived in the area his entire life. He moved out of the area only briefly from 1983-1995 when he moved to Albion, NY for work and where his children attended high school.

He was born in 1950 in Utica, NY and was the son of George J Knight and Gladys (Merrihew) Knight, both of Binghamton, NY who predeceased David. He graduated from Susquehanna Valley High School in 1968 and attended Augusta Military Academy and Mansfield State following high school. He was an avid sports lover having played football and track during his early life including time spent on The T.C. Jets. He also enjoyed all kinds of music especially from the 60s, 70s and 80s and could identify almost any music artist from that era. His favorite color was bright orange, and he often could be found rocking a head-to-toe orange outfit both in honor of the Orangemen and because it was often a conversation starter for any random stranger that he met.

David worked most of his early career in sales at Binghamton Container, Jefferson Smurfitt and other companies in the corrugated industry. Prior to his retirement, he worked for many of the car dealerships in the area before ending his working career at Visions Federal Credit Union in the auto financing division. He especially loved his time at Visions because of the people he had the pleasure of working with and because he got to enjoy his work with long time friends and colleagues across the car business.

He is survived by the love of his life and longtime partner, Janice Houseknecht, also from Binghamton. DK and Janice enjoyed cruising around the state taking trips in their convertibles and you could often find them enjoying the summer months around Skaneateles Lake and the Thousand Islands. David had many close friends and family in the area and enjoyed connecting with them frequently – often by phone. It was a big source of inspiration and encouragement throughout his cancer battle.

If you knew DK, there was no question that his children and grandchildren were his pride and joy. He is survived by his loving daughter, Heather (Knight) Sutton, her husband, Brian, granddaughter, Lily and only grandson, Evan from Barrington, IL.  His son, Chris Knight was undoubtedly his best friend, golf buddy and a chip off the old block. DK would often say “when you plant corn, you get corn.” Chris and his wife, Jill (Yale) Knight and his granddaughter, Cheyenne Yale all live in Arizona as well as his granddaughter Jasmine Gill from Washington State. You could often find DK sharing pictures of his family from their vacations together or the various activities they enjoyed with him. He was known to his loved ones as “Poppy” and they will miss his large presence in their lives.

The family hosted a Celebration of Life party for David in August at The Orchards at Chenango Commons and wants people to remember David living life fully and surrounded by those who he loved the most. Funeral services will be held later and private for the family. David will be cremated and buried at Hawleyton Cemetery next to his parents.

In lieu of flowers, we ask that you take a moment to hug your family, spend time with your friends or go enjoy a beautiful day outside to remember David. Any donations in his honor can be made to Traci’s Hope, P.O. Box 504, Apalachin, NY 13732 or Broome County Humane Society, 167 Conklin Ave, Binghamton, NY 13903 or online at https://bchumanesoc.com.