Herb Knoll

Herb Knoll lost his wife, Michelle to pancreatic cancer on March 7, 2008. Knoll is a retired bank executive, marketer, and professional speaker turned widower advocate. He founded the Michelle’s Angels Foundation, Inc., a not-for-profit organization, whose mission it is to “provide love, hope, compassion, and comforting music to those who quietly suffer” (MichellesAngel.com). Knoll also founded the Widowers Support Network in 2014 so he could better serve, comfort, and assist widowers and those who love them. Knoll has previously served as a weekly columnist for the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, a contributing writer for Sales & Marketing Management and Marketing Times magazines, and as an on-air talent for television commercials. As the former director of public and media relations for KeyBank (NY) and later as president of Marketplace Bank (FL), Knoll frequently appeared as his bank’s spokesperson on radio and television. PBS affiliate WNED produced and aired the three-part series Today’s Executive, featuring Herb’s business insights, which were featured in his 1985 book, The Total Executive. Among his many credits, Knoll was inducted into the Buffalo/Niagara Sales & Marketing Executive’s Hall of Fame, served as the Executive Director of the 10,000+ member Sales & Marketing Executives International and was a charter member of the board of directors for Nap Ford Community School in Orlando. A former U.S. Army Reserve Drill Sergeant (E-7), Knoll is a proud member of the Knights of Columbus. Knoll lives in Lake Mary, Florida, with his wife, Maria. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDYjdvSf7ZA

Articles:

A Widower’s Christmas Wish List

From as far away as Australia to the British Isles, from Canada to Nigeria, the Widowers Support Network hears the cries of men who mourn the loss of their wife, their soul mates, their partners in life. They don’t ask for much, never have, never will. After all, men who mourn are expected to “get over it,” right? You know, be a man. Macho, if you will. Unfortunately, that’s not the way it was meant to be. It is said that to grieve, you first must have loved. For without love, grief does not exist. To have loved is among […]

Hey, Widowers: What’s the Hurry to Remarry?

Suddenly, it hits you, you’re a widower, and you don’t want to live the rest of your life alone. You always knew that most women outlive their husbands, so the chances were good that you would never be widowed, and you wouldn’t have to worry about living life as a widower. What you may not realize is that one in five men will be widowed. There are approximately 3.25 million widowers in the United States alone, and most dread having to grow old by themselves. For whatever their reasons, most widowed men remarry, and they do so in short order. […]

Overcoming Male Grief: The Widower’s Journey

Overcoming Male Grief For nearly 14 years, I have dedicated my life to the service of widowers worldwide, and during that time, I have learned much about what it takes to recover from male grief. Overcoming male grief means addressing each part of their life that may have fallen into disarray following the loss. That includes their mental, physical and financial health. It includes their relationships with their children, in-laws, friends, and family. Much like an airplane preparing to take off, all systems must be in a “go mode” before the pilot commits to going airborne. While my view is […]

‘Pre-Grieving’: An Early On-Ramp to One’s Grief Journey

Loss of a spouse or a life-partner can occur suddenly as in the case of a drug overdose, an auto accident, or someone falling down a flight of stairs. Some spouses are lost to their families following a prolonged illness such as cancer, dementia, or Multiple Sclerosis, leaving the door open for survivors to experience anticipatory grief. As the founder of the Widowers Support Network, I have witnessed members frequently debate which scenario is more comfortable with the survivors. The jury is still out. Sudden death may deprive loved ones of the opportunity to say good-bye, to reconcile a long-standing […]

Assembling Your Widower Advisory Board

Men need support after the loss of a spouse, and one way to get it is to create a team of people who can coach you. I refer to them as a Widower’s Personal Advisory Board. They could be a team of individuals, hailing from your collection of lifelong friends, a neighbor, a fellow parishioner from your church, relatives or a select group of professionals (doctor, lawyer, financial planner, life-coach, confidante, etc.). Your Personal Advisory Board represents your go-to team, whose job it is to become familiar with your life situation and advise you as needed. Forming a Personal Advisory […]

Widowers Need To Be Coachable

What do Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan, and Derek Jeter all have in common? We could start with a considerable amount of athletic ability. Each has been recognized as among the best of the best in their individual sport. They also had one secret weapon each used to master their play. One trait that is commonly seen in “high achievers” from all walks of life. They were “coachable.” Think about it. Tom, Wayne, Michael, and Derek earned enormous amounts of salary for their athletic prowess, yet, they were willing subjects who intently listened to the coaching offered by men […]

Widowers Need To Step Out of The Shadows and Into the Light of Day

Grieving men are misunderstood. And for a good reason. After all, men don’t believe they have permission to grieve in the first place. When a man experiences a loss, they frequently resort to their primitive behaviors, suggesting to those who will listen, “I’m fine,” Oh really? Is that why you sit in front of your TV, endlessly watching programming you have little to no interest in watching, frequently falling asleep in your darkened home, and your half-finished pre-fab frozen dinner resting on your belly. Is that how you define “fine?” I can relate. For months following the passing of my […]

For Men: Helping Your Children Communicate

As a widower, you know that you are not the only one grieving. Following the loss of your wife, pain is felt by many others, such as your wife’s parents, siblings, relatives, neighbors, co-workers, fellow parishioners, or friends. It can be just as intense as what you experience, and this is especially likely for children. Being the surviving parent of grieving children is yet another challenge you may face, and sometimes it is the most challenging role of all. You need to understand that role and help tend to your children’s grief while you tend to your own. It […]

Widowers: Don’t Expect Others to Know What To Do

Following the passing of a wife or life-partner, it is the widower who needs support, not the deceased. So why is it that so many widowed men complain about their sense of abandonment by their families, friends, neighbors, and co-workers following their loss? Behaviors and interactions with those who you would hope would be of some level of support to the widowers, can instead become hurtful, insensitive, and at times, clumsy. Case in point, on the first morning, I was back at my bank job in San Antonio, and while seated at my desk, one of our human resource officers […]

Angels Walk Among Us

“Hi, my name is Richard.” Thus began my knowing a giant of a man named Richard Blount (62) as he sat down in the chair beside me. The occasion was my first meeting at GriefShare, a widely available program for those who have experienced a loss in their life. I was attending the program as part of the research I was conducting for my then soon-to-be-released book, The Widowers Journey. I would soon come to realize that Richard, a native of Tampa, Florida, was no ordinary man. Built like a linebacker from your favorite football team, Richard is also a […]

Open to Hope is an online community offering inspirational stories of loss, hope and recovery. We believe hope is the bridge between loss and recovery.