Claude A. Knight; Navy Veteran, Civil Servant

Claude A. Knight, a former Oxnard resident and veteran of three wars, died June 30 after a brief illness. He was 73.

Born in Flint, Mich., Knight entered the Navy in 1940 and served in World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars. He participated in several battles, including those at Guadalcanal in the South Pacific and Anzio in Italy.

He retired from the Naval Construction Battalion Center at Port Hueneme in 1970, but worked another 10 years as a purchasing agent for the civil service at the base. After his retirement from the civil service, he moved to Apple Valley.

Knight, whose interests included boxing and football, is survived by his wife of 38 years, Cesarina.

Other survivors include his daughters, Gwen Acree of Plant City, Fla., and Joann Beach of Alabama; a sister and a brother-in-law, Helen and George Rader of Apple Valley; a stepson and a daughter-in-law, Gary and Julia Inouye of Oxnard; a stepdaughter and a son-in-law, Cynthia and Wayne Edmonds of Camarillo; a stepdaughter, Alida Inouye of Camarillo; eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

The funeral will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Griffin Brothers Mortuary in Camarillo. A burial service at Conejo Mountain Memorial Park will follow. Arrangements are being handled by Pierce Brothers Stetler Mortuary of Santa Paula.