Press Release from the Governor’s Office

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HARRISBURG – Governor Edward G. Rendell tonight announced the passing of Lieutenant Governor Catherine Baker Knoll.

“On behalf of all Pennsylvania, Midge and I extend heart-felt sympathy to Catherine’s family,” Governor Rendell said. “Today we mourn the passing of one of the strongest, most dedicated public servants in Pennsylvania’s history. Our thoughts and prayers are with Catherine’s family. She will be deeply missed.

“Even as she fought cancer in recent months, she remained upbeat and dedicated to serving the commonwealth,” he said. “Catherine was a very passionate and exuberant advocate for many worthy causes. Her passing is a tremendous loss for the many people whose lives she touched.”

Knoll died Wednesday at approximately 6 p.m. at National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, D.C., where she was recovering from treatment for neuroendocrine cancer. She was surrounded by her family.

Under the Pennsylvania Constitution, Knoll will be replaced as Lieutenant Governor by the Senate President Pro Tempore, Joseph B. Scarnati III (R-Jefferson).

Noted on Keystone Politics….

Lt. Governor Catherine Baker Knoll Dies, 78 | Keystone Politics

A sad day for Pennsylvania.

Catherine Baker Knoll, who at age 72 became the first woman to be elected as Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, died Wednesday.

She was 78.

Knoll died at about 6 p.m. at National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, D.C., where she was recovering from treatment for cancer, Gov. Ed Rendell said in a statement.

Knoll was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer in July 2008 and began radiation and chemotherapy treatments. She returned for the start of the fall Senate schedule in September, but showed signs of fatigue and on Sept. 22 announced she would heed the advice of doctors, family members and colleagues and take time off.

Joe Sargent, 1932-2008

Joe Sargent died Wednesday, March 12th, 2008 at his home in Sayre, Pa. He was Sayre’s Emergency Management Coordinator since 1972. I first met Joe in 1998 during meetings of the Council’s Public Safety committee. He was thrilled that finally some one on the Council was taking an interest in emergency management. Together we updated the borough’s emergency plan, and worked together in Valley Project Impact. One of my mental images of Joe is of him and his “flood stick” that he stuck in the wet side of the levee to gauge how fast the river was rising. He was in poor health for the past year or so, but he made it a point to attend the Council’s Emergency Management Committee, which I chair. He will be sorely missed. He was a great guy to work with and a great source of history on public safety and emergency management issues in Sayre. My most heartfelt sympathy and condolences to his wife, Mary, and his family.

His obituary, as reported in the Morning Times:

    John Joseph “Joe” Sargent, 75, of Sayre, loving husband for 53 years of Mary Hoffman Sargent, passed away peacefully at his home on March 12, 2008.

    Joe was born on June 22, 1932, he was the son of the late Harold and Mary Brennan Sargent.

    Joe worked for the Ingersoll Rand in Athens for 37 years. He was very involved in the Sayre Fire Department (Engine Co. #1) and the Valley Ambulance Corps, serving as president and being honored for 50 years of dedicated service in 2005. He served as civil defense director of Sayre and a member of the Emergency Management Association for many years until his death. He was also president of the Sayre Little League and played an integral part in the construction of the new field at Gene Paluzzi Park.

    Joe enjoyed visiting his friends at the ambulance building, stringing lights and flipping burgers at the Valley Fire Works Display at Riverfront Park; and sitting on his front porch.

    In addition to Mary his wife , he survived by: son and daughter-in-law , John and Nancy Sargent of Camden, W. Va.; sons, Robert Sargent of Columbus, Ohio, and David Sargent of Sayre.; daughter, Theresa Sargent of Sayre; grandchildren, Sean, Craig, Syreeta, Daniel, Andrew, Andrea, Arielle, Nicholas and Hailey; and great-grandchildren, Teahe, Trevor, Cheyenne, Aubre and Emma. He is also survived by: brothers, Ray and his wife Sarah, Leo and his wife Marguerite and Bill Sargent; sisters, Ruth Ann Gombash, Rose Mary Dickinson and her husband Robert and Laurena Sargent.
    He was predeceased by his brother, Bernard.

    A gathering of family and friends will be held on Sunday, March 16, 2008 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Blauvelt Funeral Home, 625 Broad St., Waverly.

    A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, March 17, 2008 at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Catholic Church, South Waverly, with Father Vincent Langan officiating.

    Burial will be held in Tioga Point Cemetery, Athens.

    Memorials in Joe’s memory may be sent to: Guthrie Hospice RR 1, Towanda, PA 18848 or to Greater Valley EMS, 904 N. Lehigh Ave., Sayre, PA 18840.

Mass cards will be available at the funeral home

    Those wishing to do so may send a sympathy message of remembrance to Joe’s family at the Blauvelt Funeral Home’s web site under obituaries.