06/23/2026
Sharing the post with my friends here on FB. I put on this on Jerry Knott’s page the other day.
For context: Jerry was my former husband, we were together for 13 years and together we were blessed with having a daughter, Megan Knott Mignano. Sadly, when Megan was just 2 1/2 we divorced and I moved with Megan to Atlanta in 1991. Speed forward to March 2023, I came to South Florida to visit and meet our new grandson and during that visit, I spent time catching up with Jerry. He had survived prostate cancer and now was battling with debilitating Parkinson’s. Long story short after several heartfelt conversations we agreed that he needed help with a Caregiver and in-turn I was suffering from extremely loneliness, post Covid. We mutually agreed what a wonderful collaboration it would be for me to come down and take care of him and it would give me a purpose again. We both were kind of surprised after a very emotional and contentious divorce how seamlessly we were getting along and agreed that it was only through the intervention of God that this “ who would have ever thunk it” scenario could have happened. Since his only option for care would have been a nursing home which he was still light years away from truly needing, this was the perfect solution. So for the last 3+ years, we were blessed to reunite, heal from the wounds of our past, and praise God for the gift he’d given both of us to be together again. Being a natural born Caregiver I jumped into action to ensure that Jerry had the best possible care, medical doctors, and lived the final years of his life having the best time possible. I felt honored to do that for him and to fulfill the wish we shared when we bought our home in 1981, that the last breath he drew would be looking down the intercoastal waterway from his bed. I thank God that wish was granted.
So I know I left Atlanta rather abruptly and without really communicating to a lot of my friends what I was doing, so I felt the need to go ahead and share that today along with the post of his passing.
If there’s anything I can impart upon whoever reads this is to remember this, Life is short and it can change on a dime, for good or bad. Remember to be grateful for every day we are given and for the opportunity to help anybody in need. Be kind to everyone you meet because you have no idea what is going on in their life and your smile might make all the difference to them. Do not judge anybody, because we don’t have that authority. Call the people you love, make time in your life for what’s important. At the end of the day the only thing that matters is love. And as I always like to recall the words of the Wizard of Oz to the tin man when he gave him a heart, “Remember my sentimental friend, a heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others.” Jerry was blessed by being loved by a zillion people, and I was lucky to be loved again by him.
