Jesse was one of the Founders of this site. Indeed, it was built upon his knowledge, research and enthusiasm. I feel lucky that Ruth was able to put in words, something I could never codify. —rim

A Tribute to Jesse F. Knight

by Ruth Heredia

A very gentil parfait Knight—for a long time before his sad passing from our midst, these words of Chaucer had become associated in my mind with dear Jesse Knight. It is strange, indeed extraordinary, that someone who was only an "ethereal" acquaintance to all the members of the Rafael Sabatini Society and the Sabatini Group save for the fortunate Jan Burke, should become so valued a friend as to draw from us such an outpouring of grief. But Jesse F. Knight was an extraordinary person and though not a strange one, to us at least he was something of a mystery. And now we shall never know him better...

From Jesse Knight's own words we of the Sabatini Society and Sabatini Group can glean enough to sketch an outline of a man of many interests and much ability.

Jesse was born on the 28th of February 1946, in Devil's Lake, North Dakota. His parentage was a mixture of English and Scandinavian, and he lost parents as well as grandparents when he was quite young ("a callow youth at the time"). Jesse's early years were spent in North Dakota, and what proved to be his last years were lived in Washington State, ending on the 6th of December 2008, in Vancouver.

In Jesse's family home he grew up loving classical music, a love that expanded to include much other music, and that bore fruit all through his life in articles, reviews and plays. But Jesse's ever-seeking mind, so reminiscent of the speaker in Tennyson's Ulysses, carried him into so many regions that it is a wonder he managed to do all he did: earn a living, travel much, have a great deal (and variety) of freelance writing published, participate in the activities of music societies and literary societies, track down links and clues about his favourite writers—for instance, interviewing the nephews of the first Mrs Rafael Sabatini—and correspond with many people he only knew via email, with a kindness and a personal interest which made each one feel like one of Jesse's friends. Nor should we suppose that he did not regard his internet acquaintances as friends indeed. Jesse made time for everyone; there seemed to be no limit to his generosity; and he had a patience and a courtesy that belong to another, earlier age.

Going through my record of correspondence with Jesse Knight, which began in October 2003, I found this statement in an email dated 12th December 2003, and it was grievous to read it in the light of what happened just under five years later: "I most assuredly am NOT looking forward to old age."

Jesse F. Knight, that wonderful man and irreplaceable friend, has passed through the Gates of Doom to where he can meet all the musicians and writers he ever wished he might interview. Eternal rest would be alien to his questing spirit, so let us wish him joy of Eternal Light, and thinking of that let us dry our eyes and carry on with some of the work he began.

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