COVINGTON, Ga. — The Newton County community is mourning the death of former longtime Piedmont Newton hospital board chairman D.L. “Pete” Knox Sr., who died at age 86 at his Covington home Friday, Nov. 13.

A private graveside service was held Saturday, Nov. 14, at the cemetery of Starrsville United Methodist Church where he was a member.

Knox served as board chairman of what is now Piedmont Newton Hospital from 1984 to 2017. The Piedmont Newton Knox Surgical Center is named for him.

He also served on the board of Snapping Shoals Electric Membership Corp. for almost 27 years.

Knox was a native of Saginaw, Alabama. He moved to Atlanta and began a career in the development and construction industry. 

He moved to Covington in 1973 and went on to serve on the board of directors for both Snapping Shoals and the hospital. 

After he was named chairman in 1984, Knox led the board through six construction projects that expanded and modernized the hospital and the development of numerous clinical services, according to an obituary from Caldwell and Cowan Funeral Home.

The hospital’s board of directors unanimously chose to name its then-new surgical center in his honor during the hospital’s 50th anniversary celebration in 2004.

He is survived by his sister, Marjorie Lackey; son, Dalton Knox Jr.; daughters Joanna Duncan and Melissa McCarthy; and grandchildren, Hunter and Anna Knox; Catherine, Julia and William Duncan; and Harrison, Carter and Truman McCarthy. 

In lieu of flowers, donations are requested to be made in Knox’s memory to Starrsville United Methodist Church, 2786 Dixie Road, Covington, GA 30014.