Ingeborg Gertrud Knight

It is with deep love and sorrow that we announce that Ingeborg Gertrud Knight passed away peacefully in her sleep on January 13, 2026, at home in Walnut Creek, California.

 

Ingeborg was born on September 1, 1931, in Stuttgart, Germany, to Gertrud and Robert Belz. Raised in wartime Germany, she knew hunger, loss, and hardship as a child, alongside moments of great beauty and joy. In her early teens, she was called to faith, and from that point forward, she committed her life to Jesus Christ, living in the hope of the gospel. 

 

Music was one of Inge’s greatest gifts and lifelong forms of worship. She began learning the harmonium around age seven and the piano a few years later. At age fifteen, she joined the Bach Choir. She treasured and freely shared German spirituals and children’s songs, knowing over 400 by heart. She played the organ again at age 93. 

 

Inge began her career in Germany as a children’s nurse. Her father once described her as a “Lebenskünstlerin,” an artist of one’s life, and Inge embodied this fully. Children naturally gravitated toward her, and her professional path included work as a beloved nanny in Italy and later as a family social worker in Böblingen, Germany. She lived creatively and courageously, pursuing truth, beauty, justice, and service. 

 

In 1954, Ingeborg met Frank Knight during his visit to the Belz family in Leinfelden. Sixteen years later, they met again and began the love of their lives. They married on July 30, 1970, and Inge moved to the United States. They settled in Champaign, Illinois, raised their three children bilingually, and maintained strong ties to Germany, spending summers with family in Leinfelden. Inge continued her calling to serve others, earning a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Illinois and assisting elders through Family Services Telecare. In 1985, she founded the Grace Lutheran Food Pantry, which reached a record of serving 106 families in one day in 2024. Frank and son Marc helped get the food in the early days. 

 

After Frank’s passing, Inge moved to Walnut Creek, California, to be closer to her daughter Ellen and grandchildren Chloe and Mason. She loved her new role as Oma and being part of the vibrant senior community at Rossmoor, where she founded the German Club in 2019. 

 

She is survived by her brother Reiner Belz; sister-in-law Renate Belz; brother-in-law Charles Knight; her children Marion Anita Ajiri, Marc Alexander Knight and Ellen Diana Camp; her grandchildren Chloe May Camp, Mason James Heywood, and Tobechi Knight Ajiri; as well as beloved nieces and nephews, friends, and fellow believers. 

 

A memorial service celebrating Ingeborg’s life, faith, and music will be held on March 15 in the Fireside Room at Rossmoor.