Matilda "Tillie" Knight, a devoted mother and dedicated volunteer, died Thursday of natural causes at the Care Center at Oak Crest Village in Parkville. She was 88.

The former Matilda Kliem was raised in Ruxton, the seventh of 11 children.

After graduating from Seton High School, she worked for several years at Central Insurance Co. in Baltimore, where she met Julius O. "Jules" Knight. The couple married in 1941. Mr. Knight died in 1991.

After her marriage, Mrs. Knight dedicated herself to her family and was involved in her children's activities, such as Scouting.

"She provided a very comforting home environment for us," said her daughter Mary Catherine "Judy" Knight of Seattle. "She was always there."

Mrs. Knight volunteered at St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson from 1961 until she moved to Oak Crest in 1996. She sorted mail and delivered it to patients.

She also volunteered at Church of the Immaculate Conception in Towson, where she was a parishioner, counting the collection from Sunday Masses.

A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. today at the Oak Crest Village chapel, preceded by a viewing at 10 a.m.

In addition to her daughter, she is survived by another daughter, Pauline K. Morrison of Washington; two sons, Jules O. Knight III of Nairobi, Kenya, and J. Drexel Knight of Baltimore; and five grandchildren.

Donations may be made to the Christian Brothers, Lwanga District of Africa, with checks made out to Brother Jules O. Knight and sent in care of Brother Timothy Froehlich, Christian Brothers Provincialate, P.O. Box 29, Adamstown 21710-0029.