Charles "Ed" Knowles, age 95, of Mahnomen, MN, died on Monday, June 18, 2007 at the Minnesota Veteran's Home in Silver Bay, MN.

Charles Edward Knowles, the son of Wilber and Katie (Sage) Knowles, was born February 28, 1912 on a farm near Lake Park, IA. As young boy, he moved with his family to the Clifford, ND area where he lived until his family relocated to a farm near Grygla, MN. Ed began his school there before they moved in 1923, to Mahnomen County, MN, where he grew up and completed his education. He lived and worked on the family farm and for two years he worked in the CCC Camps near Ore, MN, clearing brush and making fire breaks. Ed then returned to Mahnomen to farm with his family. In 1942, he was drafted into the United States Army. He served his country during World War II in Asia, the Pacific Theater, Australia and New Guinea. Following his discharge from the service, he came home to Mahnomen in 1946, to farm with his brothers, Lawrence and Wilber. Ed continued to live with his family until July of 2006, when he entered the Minnesota Veteran's Home.

He was a member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church and the Isaacson-Bjorge Post #31 of the American Legion in Mahnomen. More than anything else, Ed loved to farm. He also liked to fish, play cards at the Red Apple Café, go to town, and attend auction sales.

Surviving Ed are four brothers, Harold (Luvern) of Hibbing, MN, Lawrence (Sena) of Mahnomen, Daniel of Magnolia, TX and Ralph (Liz) of Spring Lake, MN; one sister, Ethel Gullingsrud of Mahnomen; and a sister-in-law, Marie of Leon, IA. Preceding him in death were his parents, two brothers, Wilber and Clarence and two sisters, Edith Nelson and Zelma Cobb