December 11, 1954 – August 8, 2026

Teresa Kathleen (Tyler) Knight was born December 11, 1954, in Nuremberg, Germany, the sixth of eight children born to Earnest and Dorothy Tyler. She later made her home in Lawton, Oklahoma, where she graduated from Lawton High School and built a life filled with family, hard work, laughter, strong opinions, and more than a few trips to the casino.

Teresa met Ted DeWayne Knight at Pinewood Apartments, and he would become her husband and the father of her children. They married on December 2, 1982, and together raised their daughters, Tabitha, Tasha, and Tiffany. Their life wasn’t always quiet—and anyone who knew Teresa knows she probably wouldn’t have wanted it that way—but family remained at the center of her world.

In 1980, Teresa began a decades-long career with Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. Teresa believed in working hard, showing up, and doing what needed to be done—and generally had an opinion about whether everyone else was doing their part, too. She remained with Goodyear until her retirement, making lifelong friendships along the way.

Teresa loved fiercely, laughed loudly, spoke her mind freely, and never left anyone wondering where they stood. She was funny, stubborn, generous, opinionated, and completely herself. She loved her family, her friends, her cigarettes, the casino, TikTok, and doing exactly what she wanted to do.

Just two weeks before her passing, Teresa took one final trip-against nearly everyone’s better judgment- to Panama City Beach, Florida, to spend time with the special friends she had found through her TikTok sisterhood. Even an unexpected overnight stay in the Dallas airport on the way home couldn’t overshadow how good that trip was for her soul. It was Teresa in every way: determined to live her life on her own terms until the very end.

Teresa spent her final years surrounded by the people who loved her, especially her daughter Tabitha, who cared for her at home until the very end. A special thank you goes to Terry and Donna for making the move out west to help care for the family, and to her nurses Charlene, Lacey, and Korie for the love and care they gave Teresa along the way.

She also treasured her special friends Teresa, Karin, Sunni and Sassy along with the many friendships she collected throughout her life. Teresa never needed to know someone forever to make them feel like they had known her forever.

Her grandchildren and the children she loved held an especially tender place in her heart. Little Giana Kathleen shared more than Teresa’s middle name. To the family, Teresa was “Big Kathleen” and Giana was “Little Kathleen.” Before leaving for the waterpark on Teresa’s final day, Giana placed a big pink headband on her Nene’s head. When Tabitha and Giana returned home, Teresa had passed peacefully in her chair—still wearing that big ol’ pink headband. Through heartbreak, there was still laughter, because there was no way Teresa Kathleen was meeting Jesus without it.

Teresa was preceded in death by her husband, Ted DeWayne Knight; her parents, Earnest and Dorothy Tyler; her brothers, Terry and Ernie “Bub” Tyler, sisters Susi Hagerty and Donna Hausch; and her twin sons, whom she lost far too soon and never had the chance to hold while they were living.

There is comfort in imagining what Teresa saw when she closed her eyes here and opened them again: Jesus, her parents, her siblings and loved ones who had gone before her, her husband Ted, and finally the twin boys she had waited a lifetime to hold. What a beautiful reunion that must have been.

Teresa is survived by her daughters, Tabitha and Roberto (Romeo), Tasha and Jason, and Tiffany and Matthew; her grandchildren Nina, Sonny, Angel, Jaxon, Tori, Aria, Colton, and Scarlett; brothers David, Ronnie, and Kevin Tyler; her two favorite nephews, Sonny Strumila and Matt (Boogie) Tyler; her special nieces, Annie Cunningham and Shannon Tyler; adopted children Rachel and Rodney, and Twyla, bonus grandchildren Elijah, Cagan, Giana, Tamia, TaVonn, and Brody; and many other nieces, nephews, relatives, friends, coworkers, TikTok sisters, and people lucky enough to have been loved by her.

Teresa Kathleen Knight lived exactly the way she wanted—on her terms. She worked hard, loved hard, laughed often, spoke her mind, occasionally drove everyone crazy, and left behind stories that will be told for generations.

She was one of a kind.

And anyone who knew Teresa knows there will never be another one quite like her.