TWENTY green balloons were released into the sky above Howlong yesterday to mark the life of a family daycare worker who had the “magic touch” with children.
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Sue Knight, 45, died on Monday after a bowel cancer diagnosis just four weeks earlier.
She leaves behind her husband, Peter, and three children Megan, 22, Matt, 20, and Joe, 15.
Mr Knight yesterday described his wife as a loving and nurturing woman who cared for other children as if they were her own.
“She was good at asking people if they were going to have another baby because she would want to book them in,” he said.
Dozens of residents dressed in green — her favourite colour — gathered at Lowe Square in Howlong yesterday to release a sea of green balloons and share stories about their “daycare mum”.
A Chinese pistachio tree was also planted in the public space in her memory.
Mrs Knight entertained the idea of being a stay at home family daycare worker after witnessing her sister’s success in the job.
She went on to provide a family daycare service to the Howlong community for more than 13 years.
“We had five children in the house by the end of the fortnight and it’s been five children ever since then,” Mr Knight said.
“There’s a little bit of Sue in the all the children she has cared for.”
Howlong’s Alison Franks said Mrs Knight would be sorely missed.
“She has been a huge part in the lives of many families by providing education, guidance and love to many children, including my own,” she said.
“Every day she would take a picture of the kids and write a description next to it that detailed what they got up to.”
Parents Andrew and Fiona Ballintine’s three children were cared for by Mrs Knight.
“She made every child feel special,” Mr Ballintine said.
A funeral will be held on Tuesday.
