Lee B. Knight passed away peacefully in Irvine, California, on Saturday, December 20, 2015. He was 77. Lee was diagnosed in Fall 2013 with myelodysplastic syndrome, commonly known as MDS, a bone marrow disease. For the rest of his life, he fought to live a full and fulfilling life longer than the predicted 1.1 years.

 

Lee was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Gladys Nape (later Fei) and Sergie Popeloff, the Russian-born ballet master of the Cleveland Ballet. Lee’s parents taught selected students, such as the noted American actor and singer Joel Grey, the art of music, dance, elocution and other skills needed for a career in entertainment. One of Lee’s earliest memories was sitting on the piano as Joel practiced.

 

After Lee’s parents separated, Gladys and Lee moved to Santa Monica when Lee was twelve. Lee attended Santa Monica High School. He loved the beach and the band, becoming drum major. One of his fondest memories was marching in the Rose Parade. He attended what is now California State University, Northridge as a premed student, and joined the U.S. Army in 1957, working as a laboratory technician and medic. The highlights of his three-year military service included a tour at Ft. Greely in Alaska and being part of the expeditionary group sent to Chile in 1960, following the magnitude 9.5 Valdivia earthquake, the most powerful earthquake ever recorded.

 

Lee had a long career as a medical technologist and manager with the highly respected clinical chemistry company, BioScience Laboratories. He advanced to managerial positions as the company expanded and then was acquired by SmithKline Laboratories. Lee left the company in 1986 and joined Memorial Health Tech Laboratories as manager of business development and operations. In 1992 he joined Pacific Toxicology at the invitation of its president and CEO, a former colleague. Lee retired from the environmental testing company in 2003 as Vice President of Administration.

 

Lee will be remembered by friends and family as a kind, generous, and good man, liked and respected by everyone from the common man to company presidents; as a musician, cook, wine aficionado, and traveler with a zest for living; as a guy who enjoyed life, had a good sense of humor and the patience of Job; and as a lover of family, dogs, birds and roses. His wife, Susan Jennifer, step-daughter Megan Crawford, her husband Scott, and step-son Eric Smith, were with him at his death.   

 

Your donation to the Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation will help others with bone marrow disease and will keep Lee’s memory alive through their Calendar of Hope.