Anita McKnight

Anita Wetzler McKnight, age 85, known affectionately as Momeme by her family, passed away peacefully in her sleep in the early morning of December 21st at home. She was laid to rest on December 30th at the Somerville City Cemetery beside her father, Marion Wetzler and mother, Louise Woodruff Wetzler, who preceded her in death. The funeral was officiated by Dr. Greg Darden who retired from Faith Presbyterian Church in Germantown, TN. Funeral arrangements were provided by Peebles Fayette County Funeral Home.

Anita McKnight was born on April 2nd, 1940. Her father, Marion Wetzler, was a teacher at Fayette County High School and owner of Wetzler's Drug Store on the Somerville square where Ricky Rosser's law office is presently located. Her mother was also a teacher at Fayette County High School. Anita McKnight was the Valedictorian of her graduating class at Fayette County High School in 1957. Growing up, she loved the outdoors and frequently spent time in Batesville, Mississippi on her mother’s family’s farm. She attended Blue Mountain Christian University her freshmen year of college before transferring to Ole Miss where she was a member of Phi Mu Sorority. Anita McKnight worked as a cashier at the Fair Theater on the Somerville Square after she graduated college, before marrying and raising her three children. Later in life, she went to Nursing school in Memphis and worked at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Memphis in hypertension research until retirement in 2002. 

She was a member of Oakland First Baptist Church, although her attendance was not regular later in life due to frequent illness. She was a devoted Christian and read her Bible daily and listened to sermons online. She surrounded herself with pictures of family and loved dogs. 

Surviving are her two sons, Keith McKnight of Memphis and Kendall McKnight of Roanoke, VA; her daughter, Cheryl McKnight of Oakland, TN; three grandchildren, Matthew of Jackson, TN; Daniel of Waco, TX; and Stephen of Colorado Springs, CO; and five great grand children, Annmarie, Margaret, Theodore, Adalynn, and Graham.