Kristi Knowles Butler

My dear sweet wife Kristi passed away on Tuesday, June 30 after losing a two-year battle with peritoneal cancer. She had been going through chemotherapy since September 2018 but this spring the cancer had advanced to the point where Kristi chose to let it take its course. She was in Hospice at our Vallejo home in the San Francisco Bay Area for the past 6-weeks under the loving care of our only daughter Erica and me, her soulmate and husband, Craig Butler. During the hospice period she remained mentally strong and alert up until the last couple of days. She read the SF Chronicle newspaper last Sunday, front to back, and we discussed the news. She finished 3 novels within the past few weeks… The last one on her Kindle as the hardbound book was getting too heavy to hold. Reading was always her passion. 42 years ago, an angel flew into my life and we have been together ever since. We would have celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary this September. She raised two children. First me … and then our lovely daughter Erica, now 37, who lives in Napa, California just 15 miles north of here with her husband Daniel Francom and our two grandsons: Justin 9 and Braden 6. Kristi is also survived by a sister Joanne Blankenship and brother Lt. Col. Kerry Knowles. Kristi was the youngest of eight children born to Frank and Dorthea Knowles of Seattle, Wa. During the past 40 years, Kristi and I were fortunate to share our passion for travel and sailing, having owned houses in Granada Spain, Puerto Vallarta Mexico and the Washington Coast in recent years. We owned several different sailboats early on and spent much time sailing Puget Sound, the San Juan Islands, San Francisco Bay and some island hopping in the South Pacific. In 2015, we spent an entire year living in Southern Spain and driving through a dozen different countries in Western Europe. Ironically, I’ve seen Kristi driving on the German autobahn at over 100 mph, cool as a cucumber, while getting on my case back at home for doing 60 in a 55 zone. These are some of the things we reminisced and even laughed about over the past month. Kristi retired from DA Davidson in 2013 having spent over 35 years in the financial securities industry going back to Foster and Marshall in Seattle, where we both worked and met. She worked for many years on a financial advisory team with Howard “Zeke” Robbins and Dick Glassburn. We lived in West Seattle for 9 years and then Issaquah for over 25 years. Kristi was raised on Beacon Hill in Seattle, attended Franklin High School, graduated with a BA in History from the University of Washington in 1972 and earned a postgrad Para-legal certificate. She was a member of Alpha Gamma Delta sorority. Kristi passed away peacefully in the afternoon with Erica and I by her bedside in the living room of our home. She will be missed by many but never forgotten. I can’t think of an angel who deserves her wings more than Kristi. She loved life and always treated those around her with respect. She added to everything a certain touch of elegance in her own special way. Even facing death, her approach was uncommonly brave and with a touch of grace. Thank you to all who have been so kind and generous in supporting us during this difficult time. Best to all of you and my sweet Kristi – The love of my life.

Kristi Knowles Butler

May 11, 1949 - June 30, 2020