Gregory Alan Knott

Advertisement

Gregory Alan Knott

Birth
Massillon, Stark County, Ohio, USA
Death
10 Jan 2010 (aged 62)
Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio, USA
Burial
Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio, USA Add to Map
Plot
sec. 36
Memorial ID
View Source
Gregory Alan Knott, 62, died suddenly on Sunday morning, January 10, 2010, at his home in the Old West End. Born in Massillon, Ohio, in 1947, Greg attended high school in Kirkwood, Missouri and continued his education at Ohio Northern University. He went on to work for the Norfolk & Western Railroad and became the youngest engineer with his own crew in the history of the company. He retired from the railroad after 10 years. Greg then sold real estate in Toledo's Old West End, at that time a declining neighborhood. He was instrumental in changing that area into the show place that it is today, with the entire community listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Around 1980, he served on Mayor Donna Owens' Save Our City committee. In 1981, with a friend, he designed, built and operated the original Toledo Recycling Station, the first theme-oriented buy-back recycling center in the World. In 1987, he converted a bare, concrete warehouse into Bretz; an elegant night club welcoming the Gay community and serving all persons of good will. Bretz remained a premier night spot for over twenty years. In 2007, Greg sold Bretz which remains in business today. Greg was a close friend of Laurel G. Blair, an avid collector of lithophanes, which are three-dimensional porcelain castings designed to be lit from behind. He was deeply involved in the establishment of the Blair Museum of Lithophanes, located at the Toledo Botanical Gardens. Over the past 10 years, Greg spent summers taking his 23 foot boat, the Dollar Dance, through numerous Canadian waterways. His adventures carried him and his friends from Toledo throughout the Great Lakes, ranging from Duluth, MN to the salt waters of the St. Lawrence for whale watching. Greg was also a member of the Masonic Lodge. Greg is survived by Riba (his loyal and devoted four-legged friend), the Dollar Dance, and a large family of loving friends.Gregory Alan Knott, 62, died suddenly on Sunday morning, January 10, 2010, at his home in the Old West End.

Born in Massillon, Ohio, in 1947, Greg attended high school in Kirkwood, Missouri and continued his education at Ohio Northern University.

He went on to work for the Norfolk & Western Railroad and became the youngest engineer with his own crew in the history of the company. He retired from the railroad after 10 years.

Greg then sold real estate in Toledo's Old West End, at that time a declining neighborhood. He was instrumental in changing that area into the show place that it is today, with the entire community listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Around 1980, he served on Mayor Donna Owens' Save Our City committee. In 1981, with a friend, he designed, built and operated the original Toledo Recycling Station, the first theme-oriented buy-back recycling center in the World.

In 1987, he converted a bare, concrete warehouse into bretz; an elegant night club welcoming the Gay community and serving all persons of good will. bretz remained a premier night spot for over twenty years. In 2007, Greg sold bretz which remains in business today.

Greg was a close friend of Laurel G. Blair, an avid collector of lithophanes, which are three-dimensional porcelain castings designed to be lit from behind. He was deeply involved in the establishment of the Blair Museum of Lithophanes, located at the Toledo Botanical Gardens.

Over the past 10 years, Greg spent summers taking his 23 foot boat, the Dollar Dance, through numerous Canadian waterways. His adventures carried him and his friends from Toledo throughout the Great Lakes, ranging from Duluth, MN to the salt waters of the St. Lawrence for whale watching.

Greg was also a member of the Masonic Lodge.

Greg is survived by Riba (his loyal and devoted four-legged friend), the Dollar Dance, and a large family of loving friends.

Visitation will be at the Maison-Dardenne Funeral Home located at 501 Conant St, Maumee, OH. Visitation hours will be Friday, January 15, from 6pm-9pm and Saturday, January 16th, from 10am-1pm. At 5pm, a memorial service will be held at St. Mark's Episcopal Church located at 2272 Collingwood Blvd. A celebration of Greg's life will follow at the church hall.

Donations may be made to the Gregory A. Knott Acquisitions Fund of the Blair Museum of Lithophanes: 5403 Elmer Dr, Toledo, OH 43615 or the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum: 400 Portage Ave, Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783.

Published in Toledo Blade from January 14 to January 15, 2010


GREGORY KNOTT, 1947-2010
Nightspot owner was Old West End backer
By MARK ZABORNEY
BLADE STAFF WRITER

Gregory Knott, 62, a longtime champion of the Old West End and the owner for 20 years of Bretz, a near-downtown nightspot he founded as a haven for young gay people, died Sunday in his Old West End home.

Dr. Diane Barnett, a Lucas County deputy coroner, ruled the death accidental. He used a tabletop charcoal grill indoors and died of carbon monoxide poisoning, she said.

He began Bretz at 2012 Adams St. in 1987 and it quickly became a landmark.

"Bretz became a big mission for Greg," said Bill Robison, a close friend the last five years, which he said meant he was a new friend to Mr. Knott. "Greg had more friends than anyone I know."

"Greg was out as a gay man relatively young in his life. He saw oppression," Mr. Robison said. "He saw how young people had a terrible thing to deal with, coming out to their family. A lot of young people committed suicide.

"His goal was to have a place where young gay men, but anybody, could come in and be comfortable," Mr. Robison said. "It was a fun place to come. It was a place where they could finally be who they knew they were."

Bretz brought attention to the downtown area as well.

"Downtown Toledo has long been the forbidden fruit for some who don't want their kids to come down here after dark, but now when people come down here, it's not what they expect, especially when they walk into my club," Mr. Knott told The Blade in 2004. "They'll tell me, 'I'm treated so nicely here.' That happens when you provide a safe place for them and treat them like gold."

He often was generous, even as he on occasion fired and rehired a staff member multiple times, said Steve "Skiboy" Whitker, a former bartender.

"Some people he gave a roof; some people he gave a job; some people he gave advice [on] how to fill out a resume," Mr. Whitker said.

Mr. Knott sold the business in 2007.

He was born July 7, 1947, in Massillon, Ohio, and went to high school in Kirkwood, Mo. He attended Ohio Northern University.

For about a decade, he was a railroad engineer.

He moved to the Old West End in the 1960s. In the 1970s, he sold real estate for Neal Realty - 135 houses in the Old West End alone. He was a former president of the Old West End Association.

He took a respite from sales and, in the early 1980s, was director of the Recycling Station in Toledo, which paid people to bring in newspapers, glass containers, and cans.

In 1985, he became sales manager of Blair Realty and Investment in Toledo. He considered the late Laurel Blair a mentor and was on the advisory board of the museum founded to house Mr. Blair's collection of porcelain artwork called lithophanes.

Mr. Knott also was a dedicated boater, and his Great Lakes journeys took him and boatloads of friends from Duluth to the mouth of the St. Lawrence River.

His friends became his family. "Greg's Toledo family has grieved and worked together to take care of all the [funeral] arrangements," Mr. Robison said.

Visitation will be from 6-9 p.m. tomorrow and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday in the Maison-Dardenne-Walker Funeral Home, Maumee. Memorial services will be at 5 p.m. Saturday at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Toledo.

Tributes are suggested to the Gregory A. Knott acquisitions fund at the Blair Museum of Lithophanes in the Toledo Botanical Garden, or the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.

Article published January 14, 2010
Gregory Alan Knott, 62, died suddenly on Sunday morning, January 10, 2010, at his home in the Old West End. Born in Massillon, Ohio, in 1947, Greg attended high school in Kirkwood, Missouri and continued his education at Ohio Northern University. He went on to work for the Norfolk & Western Railroad and became the youngest engineer with his own crew in the history of the company. He retired from the railroad after 10 years. Greg then sold real estate in Toledo's Old West End, at that time a declining neighborhood. He was instrumental in changing that area into the show place that it is today, with the entire community listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Around 1980, he served on Mayor Donna Owens' Save Our City committee. In 1981, with a friend, he designed, built and operated the original Toledo Recycling Station, the first theme-oriented buy-back recycling center in the World. In 1987, he converted a bare, concrete warehouse into Bretz; an elegant night club welcoming the Gay community and serving all persons of good will. Bretz remained a premier night spot for over twenty years. In 2007, Greg sold Bretz which remains in business today. Greg was a close friend of Laurel G. Blair, an avid collector of lithophanes, which are three-dimensional porcelain castings designed to be lit from behind. He was deeply involved in the establishment of the Blair Museum of Lithophanes, located at the Toledo Botanical Gardens. Over the past 10 years, Greg spent summers taking his 23 foot boat, the Dollar Dance, through numerous Canadian waterways. His adventures carried him and his friends from Toledo throughout the Great Lakes, ranging from Duluth, MN to the salt waters of the St. Lawrence for whale watching. Greg was also a member of the Masonic Lodge. Greg is survived by Riba (his loyal and devoted four-legged friend), the Dollar Dance, and a large family of loving friends.Gregory Alan Knott, 62, died suddenly on Sunday morning, January 10, 2010, at his home in the Old West End.

Born in Massillon, Ohio, in 1947, Greg attended high school in Kirkwood, Missouri and continued his education at Ohio Northern University.

He went on to work for the Norfolk & Western Railroad and became the youngest engineer with his own crew in the history of the company. He retired from the railroad after 10 years.

Greg then sold real estate in Toledo's Old West End, at that time a declining neighborhood. He was instrumental in changing that area into the show place that it is today, with the entire community listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Around 1980, he served on Mayor Donna Owens' Save Our City committee. In 1981, with a friend, he designed, built and operated the original Toledo Recycling Station, the first theme-oriented buy-back recycling center in the World.

In 1987, he converted a bare, concrete warehouse into bretz; an elegant night club welcoming the Gay community and serving all persons of good will. bretz remained a premier night spot for over twenty years. In 2007, Greg sold bretz which remains in business today.

Greg was a close friend of Laurel G. Blair, an avid collector of lithophanes, which are three-dimensional porcelain castings designed to be lit from behind. He was deeply involved in the establishment of the Blair Museum of Lithophanes, located at the Toledo Botanical Gardens.

Over the past 10 years, Greg spent summers taking his 23 foot boat, the Dollar Dance, through numerous Canadian waterways. His adventures carried him and his friends from Toledo throughout the Great Lakes, ranging from Duluth, MN to the salt waters of the St. Lawrence for whale watching.

Greg was also a member of the Masonic Lodge.

Greg is survived by Riba (his loyal and devoted four-legged friend), the Dollar Dance, and a large family of loving friends.

Visitation will be at the Maison-Dardenne Funeral Home located at 501 Conant St, Maumee, OH. Visitation hours will be Friday, January 15, from 6pm-9pm and Saturday, January 16th, from 10am-1pm. At 5pm, a memorial service will be held at St. Mark's Episcopal Church located at 2272 Collingwood Blvd. A celebration of Greg's life will follow at the church hall.

Donations may be made to the Gregory A. Knott Acquisitions Fund of the Blair Museum of Lithophanes: 5403 Elmer Dr, Toledo, OH 43615 or the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum: 400 Portage Ave, Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783.

Published in Toledo Blade from January 14 to January 15, 2010


GREGORY KNOTT, 1947-2010
Nightspot owner was Old West End backer
By MARK ZABORNEY
BLADE STAFF WRITER

Gregory Knott, 62, a longtime champion of the Old West End and the owner for 20 years of Bretz, a near-downtown nightspot he founded as a haven for young gay people, died Sunday in his Old West End home.

Dr. Diane Barnett, a Lucas County deputy coroner, ruled the death accidental. He used a tabletop charcoal grill indoors and died of carbon monoxide poisoning, she said.

He began Bretz at 2012 Adams St. in 1987 and it quickly became a landmark.

"Bretz became a big mission for Greg," said Bill Robison, a close friend the last five years, which he said meant he was a new friend to Mr. Knott. "Greg had more friends than anyone I know."

"Greg was out as a gay man relatively young in his life. He saw oppression," Mr. Robison said. "He saw how young people had a terrible thing to deal with, coming out to their family. A lot of young people committed suicide.

"His goal was to have a place where young gay men, but anybody, could come in and be comfortable," Mr. Robison said. "It was a fun place to come. It was a place where they could finally be who they knew they were."

Bretz brought attention to the downtown area as well.

"Downtown Toledo has long been the forbidden fruit for some who don't want their kids to come down here after dark, but now when people come down here, it's not what they expect, especially when they walk into my club," Mr. Knott told The Blade in 2004. "They'll tell me, 'I'm treated so nicely here.' That happens when you provide a safe place for them and treat them like gold."

He often was generous, even as he on occasion fired and rehired a staff member multiple times, said Steve "Skiboy" Whitker, a former bartender.

"Some people he gave a roof; some people he gave a job; some people he gave advice [on] how to fill out a resume," Mr. Whitker said.

Mr. Knott sold the business in 2007.

He was born July 7, 1947, in Massillon, Ohio, and went to high school in Kirkwood, Mo. He attended Ohio Northern University.

For about a decade, he was a railroad engineer.

He moved to the Old West End in the 1960s. In the 1970s, he sold real estate for Neal Realty - 135 houses in the Old West End alone. He was a former president of the Old West End Association.

He took a respite from sales and, in the early 1980s, was director of the Recycling Station in Toledo, which paid people to bring in newspapers, glass containers, and cans.

In 1985, he became sales manager of Blair Realty and Investment in Toledo. He considered the late Laurel Blair a mentor and was on the advisory board of the museum founded to house Mr. Blair's collection of porcelain artwork called lithophanes.

Mr. Knott also was a dedicated boater, and his Great Lakes journeys took him and boatloads of friends from Duluth to the mouth of the St. Lawrence River.

His friends became his family. "Greg's Toledo family has grieved and worked together to take care of all the [funeral] arrangements," Mr. Robison said.

Visitation will be from 6-9 p.m. tomorrow and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday in the Maison-Dardenne-Walker Funeral Home, Maumee. Memorial services will be at 5 p.m. Saturday at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Toledo.

Tributes are suggested to the Gregory A. Knott acquisitions fund at the Blair Museum of Lithophanes in the Toledo Botanical Garden, or the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.

Article published January 14, 2010

Inscription

"OK2BGAY", Masonic