Terri Ann Knowles

Terri Knowles was born Thursday, May 27, 1954 in Columbus , Ohio. She was a graduate of Westmoor Junior High School and West High School. She attended Ohio State University before earning her degree as a RN at Columbus State. Terri, at just eight months old, had her first sickle cell crisis, but it wasn't until she was one and a half years old before doctors diagnosed her condition as sickle cell disease. She nearly died at age 22 when she suffered a severe sickle cell crisis, causing her to go into a coma. In Terri's younger days, not much was known about sickle cell disease. Treatments didn't exist, and the life expectancy was low for patients with sickle cell disease. Since then, there have been great advances in the treatment of this blood disorder. Terri happily boasts that she has lived longer than expected! Without the vital blood products she received, she would never have become a mother and successful humanitarian working for her local sickle cell disease association. Terri moved to Los Angeles, California. While there, she and two other women, founded a successful home care agency. She moved back to Columbus where she was active in the Black Nurses Association and the National Sickle Cell Organization. She worked as a nurse for over 40 years despite her sickle cell progressively worsening. On Thursday, May 18, 2020, Terri transitioned to Heaven. She was preceded in death by her parents Herbert and Dorothy Knowles, and sisters Sandra Knowles and Carlin Crowell. She leaves to cherish her memory twin son’s, Al’Aakhir Aalim Knowles and Al’Awwal Aaqil Knowles and a host of other relatives and friends.