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To my Brother in law Curtis McKnight - Rest In Peace

​His name is Curtis McKnight. He is not a nameless victim. Someone hit him after he got off the bus on his way home from work and drove away. He was a hardworking father who touched so many lives. He was a survivor on so many levels and to be taken out like this is unfair for all of us. He was the life of every party. He was the glue to every gathering. Every time he left he said, “I love you.” He was my husband’s big brother and a meaningful person to so many. Curtis, I am so sorry this has happened to you. That you were taken away from us at 41. Like this. This just seems so unfair. I am just so hurt and confused. This is the sentiment shared by so many. At the viewing and celebration of life for my brother yesterday I saw how many people he touched but we all are still so hurt and confused. Why? Why did he have to be taken away? I saw the hurt in everyone’s eyes, especially my husband’s. It was his big brother. The thing about Curt that I loved so much was that he made sure that everyone around him felt like they were special to him. He made everyone feel like they were loved. He spread himself out to where everyone just wanted to be around him. He let us all know he loved us. He wasn’t just the life of the party, Curt was life, life itself. Every person has a picture with him. There are so many people in this world that know him.  It amazes us all the time how many people know him. I’m trying to process these feelings of grief, hurt and sorrow knowing that though this was not my biological brother, knowing that I didn’t see him every day - I saw him frequently enough - to know how much love he had for his entire family, including me. I pray for peace and solace. Burying him hurt because he is larger than life. It just doesn’t sit right to have watched him in a coffin that we put in the ground. The ice rain came down in droves yesterday, but there was this moment at the cemetery when the sun came out for a few seconds and we knew it was him. It will never be the same living in this world without his light. We will continue to push on through the hurt. We will learn and grow. We will speak of him. We will laugh at all the memories because there are so many. We will continue to speak his name throughout the family. He deserves that. Rest in peace Curt. 

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