Blaine Anthony Knous died peacefully in Dallas on July 1, 2024, after a courageous battle with cancer. He was born on April 2, 1962, in Story City, Iowa. Blaine is survived by his partner, William “Billy” Rodriguez; his parents, Joe Bill and Kathy Knous; his sister, Lori Bearden; his nephew, Dan Bearden (Bridget) and their three children; his niece, Rachel Towey (Andrew) and their daughter; and his pet dog Max. He will be dearly missed by many other relatives and friends. After earning an undergraduate degree in business management from Northwest Missouri State, Blaine moved to Fort Worth in 1994 to work at Osteopathic Medical Center—ultimately serving as a assistant club director over their fitness centers. In 2008, he relocated to Dallas to teach public school. As a dynamic and devoted physical education teacher at Dallas ISD’s John F. Peeler Elementary School for the last 16 years, Blaine kept as many as 350 pre-K through fifth-grade PE students moving each year, led after-school activities and organized his favorite end-of-year Field Days complete with water balloons, relay races and a highly competitive tug of war. In between teaching he also found time to earn his Masters of Education – Educational Leadership at the University of North Texas in 2014. Outside of school, Blaine enjoyed visiting his family in Iowa during summer breaks and for Thanksgiving, long-distance running, working out in the gym—often twice a day, baking all sorts of delicious treats, gardening and fixing things (skills he learned from his parents), reading a wide variety of books, nurturing plants and animals—especially the butterflies and bees he knew were so important to our environment—and making happy memories over the last 14 years with Billy. During the last 11 months of his life, Blaine faced his illness with unsurpassed courage and grace. He never complained and always expressed gratitude to his many caregivers. His peaceful and effortless passing was another reflection of his loving nature. A memorial mass celebrating Blaine’s life, which will also be live streamed, will be held at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 3811 Oak Lawn Avenue, Dallas, Texas at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, with a reception to follow. A Committal of Blaine’s cremains will take place at the Center Cemetery, 52686 130th Street, Story City, Iowa at 11am on Saturday, August 3, 2024, with a luncheon to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made online to the Dallas Education Foundation for purpose of unrestricted in memory of Blaine A. Knous (https://dallasedfound.org/donate/). Checks should be made payable to Dallas Education Foundation, include In Memory of Blaine Knous in the memo and mailed to 9400 N. Central Expressway, MB 19 Dallas TX 75231. The money raised will serve to fund various programs at Peeler Elementary that will serve to commemorate Blaine’s passions including buying running shoes and clothing for students participating in a to be formed runners club named after him, procuring plants and related supplies for Peeler’s Garden Club and if funds allow, the purchase and stocking of a multilingual book vending machine to be enjoyed by Peeler students for years to come. Here is the link for the live streaming of the July 30th mass: https://youtube.com/live/oj2rWB0D-g8?feature=share Condolences and/or questions for the family may be emailed to Billy at
[email protected]
