Students family tribute to ‘Pops’, school crossing guard who died fishing on Trinity River

Mark Knowles followed a certain ritual every day. He went fishing on the Trinity River, came home and had dinner watching his favorite TV show with his wife Elizabeth.

On October 23, Elizabeth Knowles left work and called her husband to ask if he had been fishing. He laughed and said he wasn’t there yet, but he was on his way. That was the last time she heard his voice on the phone.

Mark Knowles’ body has been found from the Yasnaya fork of the Troitska River in Fort Worth last week, according to police. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office is conducting an autopsy to determine the cause of death of the 66-year-old man. Elizabeth said she expects they won’t have the autopsy report for about 90 days.

Mark, who was retired, served as a crossing guard at St Lily B. Clayton Elementary School and security guard of TCU.

Dwayne Ferguson, another crossing guard at the elementary school, said Mark, also affectionately known as Pops, did a lot for children and the community.

He handed out lollipops to each child when they came home, told them to make sure they listened to their parents and did their homework, and the students loved him, Ferguson said.

“Every holiday we dressed up, we laughed, we danced and we played music,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson said this holiday season will be tough without Mark, but they’ll probably dress up anyway to try to live up to his legacy.

Eric Gilbert, commander of TCU’s special operations division, said Mark was very outgoing and inquisitive, and he was very excited to be a part of TCU.

Gilbert said that at work, Mark was always helpful and could be counted on to handle any task on campus.

Moving in is a big event for TCU every year, and Mark was involved, making sure people had water and everyone was taken care of, Gilbert said.

“We definitely miss him,” Gilbert said. “Unfortunately, we only had a small, limited amount of time to spend with him here. He was definitely a dedicated worker.”

Perry Johnston, a neighbor and fellow TCU student, said Mark enjoyed working TCU football games. According to him, he had relationships with many students.

“It wasn’t a long relationship, but it was a short but important relationship,” said Johnston, who knew Mark for about two and a half years.

Members of the community and elementary school students placed signs in his memory on the school grounds, where he distributed treats to children.

“Dad, thank you for protecting us. Always in our hearts,” reads one of the posters.

“You know, not everyone has that kind of outpouring for you,” Johnston said. “If you commit to maintaining relationships with your friends, family and neighbors, they will return the favor by showing how much they love you.”

Elizabeth said her husband died doing what he loved most, fishing. According to her, she is comforted by the community voicing how much they love him.

According to Elizabeth, he dressed up not only for the children at school, but also for every holiday with his family. Mark had already chosen his Halloween costume: he planned to dress up as the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland.

“We’re going to trick or treat the grandkids and celebrate the Pope that way,” Elizabeth said.