LINCOLNVILLE — Regina “Gina” Dombkowski Knight, 78, of Lincolnvile, Maine, lost consciousness in her sleep February 26, and passed away February 27, 2021.
 
Beloved wife of Roger Knight, Gina was born and raised in East Hampton, Massachusetts. Gina and Roger met in March, 1987, when he answered her ad in the “Singles Almanac.” They immediately bonded and soon set up house in Lexington, Massachusetts. Her adventurous spirit and their shared passion from travel led them many places – including a trip to Maine in 1990, the year they wed. Maine spoke to them: they both loved its open spaces and natural beauty, and launched their “five-year-plan” to live in Maine, buying land in Lincolnville in 1993, building a home together, and moving there in 1996 upon retirement. 
 
An art and education major at Rivier College in Nashua, New Hampshire, after graduation Gina spent 32 years teaching all subjects to 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students in Woburn, Massachusetts. She was a dedicated, kind, and passionate teacher.
 
During her teaching career, Gina had summers available to pursue her love of travel and adventure – from early visits to Cameroon and Greece to annual visits to Italy after retirement. She shared her love of other places and cultures with her students, inspiring many of them to travel.
 
From the late 1990s until 2018 Gina and Roger visited Italy for more than a month each year, often based in Montepulciano. She loved the welcoming culture, art, landscapes, conviviality, and especially the cuisine. Gina often visited a retired art professor in Tuscany, where they painted the countryside together. Gina once won an art competition there.  
 
Gina was a kind soul who followed her life-long passions for fun, travel, adventure, and art. She is widely remembered for her kind and generous spirit, taking people under her wing. Everywhere Gina went, she made friends, because she was genuinely interested in and appreciated people. She helped two Polish women who arrived in the United States only to discover their job offer had fallen through. Gina spoke a bit of Polish, as her parents spoke it at home. Gina and Roger also helped a young couple seeking lodging near Lake Como in Italy and kept in touch with them for years, later visiting them in Berlin. 
 
In Maine, Gina was actively involved for over a decade in the annual “Art on the Beach” art show at Lincolnville Beach, eventually managing the event. She was also part of an outdoor painting group based in Damariscotta, studying with artist Tom McCobb and others. Gina’s landscape paintings and pastels appear in many private collections. The U.S. Navy hired Gina to create paintings of ecologically-valuable coastal peatlands of the Corea Heath, now part of the Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge. She trekked through these boggy lands with a smile on her face, alongside a biologist noting special features including a 2-1/2 foot tall, 150 year old spruce.
 
Gina was the third child of six born to the late Joseph and Helen (Tkaczek) Dombkowski. Gina leaves behind her loving husband of 30 years, Roger Knight, of Lincolnville, Maine.

She is also survived by her sisters Maryann of Florida, Susan of Massachusetts, and brother Frank of Brazil.

She was predeceased by a sister, Kathryn and a brother, Peter.

Gina will be cherished and remembered by countless friends worldwide.
 
A celebration of Gina’s life will be planned at a future date. In lieu of flowers, donations in Gina’s honor may be made to Coastal Mountains Land Trust, www.coastalmountains.org