Memorial Day is a time for Americans to reconnect with our history and core values by honoring those who gave their lives for our country’s ideals. This Memorial Day, we are especially grateful as we celebrate the life of one of our industry colleagues, Jim Knight, who lost his courageous battle with lung cancer this month.

In the United States, Memorial Day is the last Monday in May. It symbolizes a day of remembrance for those who have died while fighting in the U.S. Armed Forces. It’s also the long weekend that kick-starts our summer with many BBQs and other celebratory gatherings.

This May, our thoughts turn to our extended PSC family, having learned of the passing of our long-time colleague, friend and veteran, Jim Knight. Jim worked alongside many of us at PSC North America when we worked at “ESCA.”

In those days, Jim was often found with a spatula in hand standing behind a grill in the parking lot during employee appreciation summer BBQs. He was a member of the Executive Team, he led project deliveries, was head of the service’s team, and he held commercial roles as well.

Beyond his professional accomplishments, his electrical engineering degree and MBA in Finance from prominent Northwest universities, Jim was also a proud U.S. Navy veteran who was once stationed in Spain flying P-3 Orions hunting submarines.

He was a kind soul and a great mentor for many of us at PSC. I met Jim on my very first day at ESCA, and I was struck by how authentically interested he was in me, a new grad and new hire.  Since then, and up to our last meeting, he continued to be keenly interested and supportive. This was just who he was.

Here are some more memories of Jim from within PSC…

“My first personal interaction with Jim was an interview in Sydney, Australia when I was wanting to transfer within Alstom to Seattle. I remember him being very interested in what I wanted to do and his positive word had a significant impact on my career and the trajectory of my life and my wife’s as well!” ~ PSC President and CEO Alex Boyd

“Jim was a good guy, a good boss and an all-around good business partner. He was always encouraging others around him, even on the tennis court! He was a real family man and I miss him.” ~ Philip Jap, PSC Director, Operational Technologies in SCADA/EMS.

“My memories of Jim include Operations breakfasts, taking Korean language lessons, and weird food in strange places.  Jim always had a great attitude.  He could find the entertainment value of an adverse situation. Jim embraced the concept of not having an adversarial relationship with your customer.  Instead, Jim encouraged everyone who worked for him to think of ways to make our customers successful. Their success was our success.  While working for Jim I traveled the world to make our customers successful. Jim appreciated contributions made by individual contributors and their families.  Jim had a great sense of humor. I will always think of Jim as my friend.” ~ Tom Addison, PSC Senior SCADA/EMS Consultant

“Jim and Cherylyn McCrae hired me into ESCA as a Project Engineer back in 1991. Jim personally checked in on me at the end of my first day – which had been sort of rocky – and offered words of encouragement and support. I remember his sincere interest in my experience, checking in on me regularly over my first few weeks. My first work at ESCA was contributing to an EMS proposal for Puget Sound Energy. Coincidentally, my first project with PSC has been back at PSE.” ~ David Thomas, PSC Principal SCADA/EMS Consultant

“The first year I played in the annual ESCA golf tournament, I was put on Jim and his wife’s (Donna) foursome. Even though I wasn’t a great golfer, they were patient with me and we had a bunch of great laughs that day. I worked at ESCA for 23 years and Jim was one of the most stable, likable guys around. My heart goes out to his family and especially Donna.“ ~ Gayle Wooster, PSC Senior Global Marketing Manager

As we recognize Memorial Day this weekend, we’ll also be thinking about Jim, his service to our country and his positive impact on so many of us. He’ll be fondly remembered and acutely missed by those whose lives were touched by his.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday weekend.