Carol Held Knight Biography

Carol Held Knight was born in 1945, to Victor Held and Rosario Cota.

Neil Armstrong was previously married to Janet Elizabeth Shearon. They ended their 38-year-long marriage in 1994. The couple had three children. Their first child, Alan, was born on June 30, 1957. Their second child, Karen Anne, was born in 1959 but unfortunately died of a brain tumor in 1962. A year after Karen’s tragic death, Neil and Janet’s third and last child, Mark Stephen, was born.

Carol Held Knight met Neil Armstrong for the first time at a golf tournament in 1992. Their conversation began as they happened to be seated together for the pre-tournament breakfast at a club in Cincinnati. The meeting was pre-planned by their mutual friends Paul and Sally Christiansen, who later became the legal witnesses of Carol and Neil's wedding. Neil was one of the celebrity participants in the tournament. He was still married to Janet at that time. However, their relationship had soured by then. Carol was nervous and overwhelmed to have such a great astronaut seated next to her. She thus spoke a little to Neil and left soon to be with her ill mother. Neil, being a true gentleman, escorted her to the car. According to sources, Neil called Carol a few weeks after the tournament. He even helped Carol to chop a cherry tree down.

Carol Held Knight and Neil Armstrong got married on June 12, 1994, in Ohio. His divorce from Janet had been finalized by then. Carol and Neil had two wedding ceremonies. Their first wedding was an intimate one at a small venue in Ohio, a place Carol is originally from. A few days later, their second wedding event was held at the ‘San Ysidro Ranch’ in California, and it was a grand affair. Following their marriage, Carol and Neil built their first home in California and lived there for several years.

Carol Held Knight and Neil Armstrong spent their last few years together in Indian Hill, Ohio. The couple had no children. Neil died on August 25, 2012, after he succumbed to complications from a heart surgery he had undergone a few days before. After his demise, Carol continues to live in their Indian Hill home.