Educator, band director Lenny Knight dies

When Lenny Knight, former director of Dover High School's marching band, died Tuesday, waves of grief quickly spread through the community.

Knight, who worked at the high school for 15 years, was known not only for directing its Rolling Thunder drumline but for inspiring students to study music. He was hired to work with the band's drum section in 2000, after graduating from Delaware State University, and was named band director in 2007.

In 2015, he left the district to work at his alma mater, DSU, as an assistant band director — his students were devasted, but proud. They would never forget him.

On Wednesday, they took the day to remember him. Some of his students came to the school Wednesday and played along with the current band. Many wore jazz band uniforms or band shirts. Others took to social media to honor him.

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"R.I.P. Lenny Knight. You are a true inspiration to band kids, we will never forget you," Ace Wilkerson wrote on Twitter.

"I'm at a loss for words," Brady Knight tweeted. "R.I.P. Lenny Knight. You inspired me to do great things." 

Jennifer Lyons, who graduated in 2013, said: "My senior year he handed me a music folder with my name on it. He had nominated me to be one of the flute players for Kent County Honors Band. This honors band was through director recommendation only. I was confused by this nomination because I thought I was a mediocre player. The fact that he saw that potential in me was so inspiring, he had a way of making every one of his students special."

Superintendent Dan Shelton said the district is not the only one who has experienced a great loss — the entire community has.

"The love for the band at Dover High School is deeply rooted in this community and specifically the legacy he leaves behind of the Dover High School Rolling Thunder will forever be attributed to the dedication that Mr. Knight had to the students of Dover High School," he said. "He is and certainly will be missed by many."

Assistant band director Reginald Daniel, who worked with Knight closely, said: "Lenny Knight WAS Dover High School and the heart of the Dover High Senator Band when he taught here. He bled blue and white, and gave everything he could to the music program, sometimes disregarding his own health. He touched so many people's lives in the time he was at Dover High Schoo and will be missed greatly, by students and faculty as well. He also was an integral part of the marching band program at Delaware State University, as well. The Rolling Thunder Drum Line was his creation, and are known far and wide because of his dedication to it, so much so that they have been invited to perform in Japan this summer, the ONLY high school group asked to do so in the United States! Lenny Knight was a musical genius and he will be sorely missed."

Under Knight's tenure, the band not only played for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the Philadelphia 76ers but Bon Jovi. The drumline won a grand championship in the Bahamas in 2005, and several of his students have won college scholarships and continue to practice music.

Knight also worked with the school's jazz band program and volunteered for the Blue-Gold All-Star Football team.

From Gaum, Knight went to Dover High School himself and served as drum captain before he graduated in 1989. He continued to practice music at DSU.

Brad Whitenight, choir director at Dover High School, worked with Knight from 2008 to 2015.

"His passion for teaching band was clearly evident with all he did," Whitenight said. "He was always known to put others ahead of him, and he genuinely cared for his students as if they were his own children. The students who knew him best called him 'Pop.' They could always go to him to talk about anything, even if it didn't relate to band or music."

Greg Austin said he knew Knight for over 30 years, even though he went to a different high school. His commitment to students was clear to him, as well.

"A few years ago, while my daughter was on the Dover High School cheerleading team, I was the team photographer," he said. "I asked Lenny to stand in front of the band for a picture. He said, 'Absolutely not. I would never turn my back on these kids.' .... That stunned me and yet made so much sense. Great guy. He battled hard."

Close friend Seth Tolbert said Knight was a mentor, a confidant, a roommate, a friend, a brother "and the world is as lessened by his passing as much as it was enriched by his presence."

Tolbert, a brass player, met Knight as a junior at Dover High School in 1992, when he came to help out with the percussion section. Later, when Tolbert was in college, he would come home over the weekends and talk to Knight at the Perk Place coffee shop — that's when they became friends.

When Tolbert finished college, he moved in with Knight and another friend. They remained close even after they moved. They shared their ups and downs — Tolbert's divorce and Knight's diabetes — and encouraged each other to keep going.

Knight was always there, like an older brother, Tolbert said.

"You can’t really ever distill anyone down to a single word; we’re too complex," Tolbert said. "We contain multitudes. ... I can’t really go into who Lenny was;

he was legion, but if you want a word, a mere pittance of who he was, but at the same time his greatest part, Lenny was heart. He felt deeply. He loved. He loved music. He loved football. He loved God. He loved anime. He loved Dover. He loved teaching. He loved sharing. He loved people. He. Loved."

Information on Knight's funeral or memorial service was not immediately available.

Contact Jessica Bies at (302) 324-2881 or jbies@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @jessicajbies.