Mark Knowles, known as “Pop” was a crossing guard at Lila B. Elementary School in Fort Worth. Police recovered his body in the Trinity River last week.
FORT WORTH, Texas — As the school bell rang at the end of the school day at Lily B. Clayton Elementary School in Fort Worth on Monday, a familiar face wasn’t there to greet students.
Instead, parents started a small memorial for the school’s beloved crossing guard, Mark Knowles, who was known as “Pop.”
“He was the best crossing guard I ever met,” one student said.
Students remember him for greeting them after school with lollipops, dressing up for holidays, and bringing snow cone trucks to surprise them after school.
“He’s really kind,” another student said. “Any time we were sad, he would compliment us.”
Last week, Fort Worth Police recovered Knowles’s body from the Trinity River near the intersection of Watercourse Drive and Arborlawn Drive. Police said the 66-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. It’s still unclear why he ended up in the water, Fort Worth PD said. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office is still working to determine a cause of death.
His wife, Elizabeth Knowles, told WFAA Knowles loved fishing daily. That’s what he was doing when he died. Elizabeth said he may have suffered a medical emergency, but an official cause of death is still under investigation.
“He died doing what he loved, and the outpouring of messages and tributes that we’ve received has been overwhelming and so humbling,” Elizabeth said.
Rather than speak about how he died, she wanted to honor him by sharing how he lived.
Knowles, who was retired, chose to give back to his community by serving as a crossing guard at Lily B. Clayton Elementary and as a security guard at TCU.
“That’s just who he was,” Elizabeth said. “He was so giving and so selfless. You’ve never met anyone that was more selfless than he was. He loved those kids at Lily B. more than anything.”
The school community loved him back.
Lauren Griffin, a parent at Lily B. Elementary, said he is the crossing guard her children have known the longest. Griffin said he went above and beyond to bring joy to those around him daily.
“He made it exciting, he made it fun with just the smallest things,” Griffin said. “It was kind of every day that he made special.”
D’Andra Houston, his fellow crossing guard who served with him for five years, said his sudden loss has devastated the school community. Houston said he became like a close family member.
“This has just tore everybody’s heart in pieces,” Houston said. “All of my memories that I have of him is his smile. Everybody loved him. It’s hard for me to come here every day and not see him. He has just been an all-around great person for everybody… a heart of gold.”
As children left school on Monday, many stopped to fill a poster board with messages for “Pop.”
One student crossed the street and asked another crossing guard a question: “Will you have candy for us tomorrow?”
They’ll remember how “Pop” made the end of every school day feel extraordinary.