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Community Corner

Selfless, Local Woman Learned As A Child The Art of Giving

HARTFORD, Conn. – English churchman Robert South (1634-1716) once said that if there be any truer measure of a person than by what he does, it must be by what he gives. Gwendolyn Knowling didn’t grow up with much but she discovered as a youngster, the art of giving. The 12th of 13 children born to an Alabama preacher and a stay-at-home mom, Knowling found wealth and riches in family and faith – a faith that taught her it is better to give than to receive. 

In the 1960s Knowling’s oldest sister, Zilla, accepted a position as a teacher in the Hartford public school system. Recognizing better job opportunities, family members trekked up from the hot humid climate of Abbeville, Ala., to a much cooler Hartford. Even Knowling’s mother eventually made her way to Connecticut to temporarily work so she could send money home to her struggling family. At the start of ninth grade, Knowling’s father decided it was better that she be with her mother than on the small Alabama farm where few prospects existed. Life was very different, but Knowling learned to navigate city life. She, too, got a job working after school at a local grocer. That’s where she met Lawrence Davis, the man she married in 1970. 

Lawrence Davis enlisted in the U.S. Army and the couple went on to have three children, Angela, Adrienne and Lawrence. However, the marriage did not last, and in 1978 the couple divorced. Having accompanied her husband on two tours in Germany, one in Italy and a stint in Kentucky, Knowling and the children returned to Hartford to be close to her sisters and brothers; her mother had since rejoined Knowling’s father on the farm in Alabama. 

Knowling accepted a position working for the state. In 1980 she went on to marry a construction worker, Hogan Knowling. Although they didn’t have much, their lives together were full. 

However in 1989, for no apparent reason, Knowling awoke one day to find she had lost her eyesight. Confused and frightened, she was quickly admitted to the hospital. 

“After a few tests, my doctor told me I had multiple sclerosis,” remembered Knowling, 65. “I’d never heard of MS. The doctor had to explain it to me. Even though he told me there wasn’t a cure for my illness, I said, ‘I’m not gonna let it get me.’” 

More than 6,000 Connecticut residents, like Gwendolyn Knowling, battle multiple sclerosis, a potentially debilitating disease. Symptoms can include, among other things, numbness and tingling in the extremities, difficulties with vision and speech, stiffness in the limbs, and in extreme cases, complete paralysis. At the time Knowling was diagnosed, there were no medications available to slow the progression of her disease. 

At first, Knowling didn’t let many people know about her illness. Even though her children knew about her diagnosis, they cannot remember her ever complaining. 

”My mother was good for acting like nothing was wrong,” said Angela Ricks, 41, Knowling’s oldest daughter. “She is so caring and willing to help others. Mom always thinks of others first.” 

Knowling’s middle child, Adrienne Davis, 39, concurred. 

“I was 13 when I learned my mom was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis,” remembered Davis, who lives in Wethersfield. “She admitted to me that she had an incurable illness, but she also said, ‘It won’t beat me.’ Mom was always open and honest with me, so when she said it wouldn’t beat her, I believed her.” 

In 1994, after another stay in the hospital, Knowling was laid up, unable to move because of the effects of her illness. Feeling terrible but refusing to give into self-pity, Knowling, who had just recently heard about a fundraiser, Walk MS, pondered what she could possibly do to make a difference. She gazed out the window of her hospital room, and that’s when she decided to organize her own walk team. 

“My dentist always affectionately greeted me with, ‘Hello Sunshine,’” said Knowling, whose sunny disposition is evident to all who meet her. “Lying in my hospital bed, unable to walk, I decided that my team would be called the Sunshine Walkers; we were going to do our part to help find a cure.” 

The family embraced Knowling’s idea, and in 1993 the Sunshine Walkers stepped out for the first time. In 1997, Davis, who studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology, designed the team’s tee-shirt and has continued to design the tees for every walk since. 

A few years ago, Ricks, who loves to cook, pulled together a benefit backyard barbeque at her mother’s home in the Blues Hills neighborhood of Hartford. The family served up ribs, chili, fried fish, cornbread, coleslaw and hamburgers and hotdogs to anyone stopping by with a donation of $5 or $6. The family raised about $900 to bolster their walk team’s fundraising. 

“It was the first time we had organized a fundraiser,” said Ricks, who resides in Rocky Hill. “I didn’t realize then the amount of community support I could secure, so I was paying for everything – the food, the disposable tableware and sodas. We’ve become privy to the ins and outs of fundraising and we’re getting better at this now.” 

Knowling’s fundraising goals have been modest, the highest being set at about $2,000. But whatever goal Knowling set, she never failed to reach. In fact, if she couldn’t make her goal through contributions made by her supporters or raised by her teammates, she would make up the difference out of her own earnings. 

“We all have a choice,” said Knowling, whose beloved husband, Hogan, passed away in 2011 after 31 years of marriage. “Everyone faces challenges in life. We can choose to give up, or we can choose to press on. I choose to move ahead and help make a difference.” 

Knowling and her team, which steps out each year at the University of Connecticut’s West Hartfordcampus, are preparing to lace up for their 21st Walk MS. Team tees are being designed. Contributions are being collected from friends, family and co-workers. For the past decade, Sunshine Walkers, now 20 walkers strong, has included Knowling’s grandchildren, all of whom are also doing their part for the cause. Because of the progression of her MS, Knowling is no longer able to actually walk. However, she’s always on-site cheering on her team and urging them to make a difference, big or small. 

“My mother is an amazing woman,” said Lawrence Davis, 37, a network engineer who, with his wife and two children, lives in Windsor. “She makes light of her difficulties and challenges. She has always been more concerned with moving forward – not looking back. I’m blessed to have the mother I have.” 

The 2014 Walk MS will be held at Hammonasset State Park, in Madison, and Sherwood Island, in Westport, on Saturday, April 5.  The walk will be held at 10 other walk sites on Sunday, April 6. Sites include Camp Harkness, in Waterford; Cheshire High School, in Cheshire; Commons Park at Harbor Point, in Stamford; JFK Middle School, in Enfield; the Litchfield Town Green, in Litchfield; Rentschler Field, in East Hartford; the University of Connecticut, in West Hartford; Western Connecticut State University, in Danbury; Westminster School, in Simsbury; and West Haven High School, in West Haven. 

Last year’s Walk MS raised more than $1.26 million. The chapter expects to raise $1.3 million this year. Lunch is provided compliments of Subway and Coca-Cola. Walk MS community partners include News 8, WUVN / WHTX Univision and WUTH Telefutura, Clear Channel Radio Connecticut, which includes The River 105.9, Country 92.5, KISS 95.7, ESPN 1410 AM, KC 101.3, 960 WELI, and ESPN 1300 AM. Other community partners include 95.9 The FOX, WCTY 97.7 and La Puertorriqueñisima 1120 AM. 

“My mother is a humble woman,” said Ricks, with a smile. “She doesn’t care about fame and fortune. She doesn’t need attention. Mom would give a stranger her last and say, ‘It’s okay; things will work out for me.’ I have to admit that I’m not where Mom is in her character, but I pray one day I will be the kind of woman she is.” 

There is no fee to register for the 2014 Walk MS. However, participants are encouraged to form teams and raise funds. To learn more about Walk MS, to pre-register or to donate to the Sunshine Walkers, please visit www.ctfightsMS.org.

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