Monday, September 8, 2008

Odon George Knight, 65, a Presbyterian minister who worked on behalf of affordable housing as executive director of NeighborWorks America, died Aug. 18 of gastric cancer at his home in Alexandria.

Mr. Knight was born in Terre Haute, Ind., and grew up in Rutherford, N.J. He received his bachelor's degree in philosophy from Lafayette College in 1965. He received a master's of divinity degree from McCormick Theological Seminary and a master's degree in social work from the University of Chicago, both in 1969 in a joint program. In Chicago, he was ordained as a Presbyterian minister and served as an associate pastor at St. Paul's United Church of Christ there from 1971 to 1973.

Also in Chicago, he started the Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp., a community development group based on the principles of community organizer Saul Alinsky. Mr. Knight served as the organization's executive director from 1967 to 1970.

He moved to Northern Virginia in 1973 and joined NeighborWorks America (then known as the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corp.), a national nonprofit organization created by Congress in 1978 to provide financial support and assistance for community-based revitalization efforts. He served as the organization's executive director from 1990 until his retirement in 2000.

He remained involved with affordable housing finance in retirement, serving on the boards of Volunteers of America and the National Housing Trust. He also was a member of the National Housing Conference.

He belonged to First Presbyterian Church in Arlington County, where he preached, taught adult Sunday school and served as interim pastor in 2002. He also preached at other area Presbyterian churches and served on the National Capital Presbytery Business Advisory Committee from 2003 until his death.

Mr. Knight vacationed each year at his summer cottage on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. He also loved to travel. He made a number of trips to Peru to visit his daughter and her family when they were living there and also traveled to China, India and the Philippines, among other places.

Mr. Knight's first wife, Nancy Hoyt Nichols, died in 2001.

Survivors include his wife of four years, Kathleen Desmond of Alexandria; two children from his first marriage, Jessica Panfil of Arlington and Sherman Knight of the District; a sister; and four grandchildren.

-- Joe Holley