Our beloved mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, Josephine Nocella Knight, passed away on May 14, 2024, surrounded by her loving family after a long illness.

Josephine was the heart of our family and will be sadly missed.

Josephine was born January 17, 1928 in Formia, Italy and came to the United States after WW2, eventually settling in Troy, Michigan. She was very proud of her American citizenship.

Josephine was especially devoted to her family and loved cooking her specialty Italian cuisine. Christmas was a very special time for the family and the family will always remember the laughter, gifts, and food we enjoyed at the annual Knight Christmas Eve gathering.

Josephine enjoyed working in the garden and loved flowers, especially roses. She was friendly, kind, and generous. She was always available for good conversation at her table with a good, strong cup of coffee. She wanted to let everyone know about her family in Italy and the hardships she personally endured living in war-torn Italy.

She also wanted to share her strong patriotic views and values because she was a strong believer in standing up for personal beliefs. She chose to live life on her own terms.

During the final months of her life Josephine enjoyed daily road trip adventures, and the occasional jaunt to Traverse City with her beloved daughters.

There was also one last trip to Macy’s, her favorite shopping destination of years gone by.

Survivors include her daughters:

Donna Nash of Taylor, MI ; Carol Campbell Schaerges of Detroit, MI ; Debbie (James) Nichols of Madison Heights, MI ; Victoria (Charles) Knight of Troy, MI; Karen Knight Cwiek ( Mike) of Clawson, MI; and her son Anthony (Ann) Knight of Sterling Heights, MI.

Josephine was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 38 years Raymond Knight (1996), her son Richard Campbell (2007), and step son Kurt Knight (2001). Sons-in law Gary Nash ((2015) and Allen Schaerges (2021).

She is also survived by her grandchildren:

Christine, Karen, and Vincent (Deborah) Nash. Amanda (Matt) Whitmer, Danielle Nichols, Jennifer (Dave) Cwiek Dobbs, and Carrie(Dan) Jones. Plus many great grandchildren. Also,surviving in Italy is her niece Maria and her daughters (Carmelia, Daniela).

The family would like to thank her wonderful and compassionate caregiver Lynn Hawk.

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