Meredyth streets dedicated to Nancy Lopez, Ray Knight

ALBANY, Ga. — Ladies Professional Golf Association Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez and Major League Baseball All-Star Ray Knight were honored Thursday for their commitment to Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital through the dedication of two new roads on the hospital’s Meredyth Place campus that have been named after both sports personalities.

The dedication took place at the intersection of Nancy Lopez Lane and Ray Knight Way off Meredyth Drive. The two streets were constructed along with the Phoebe Digestive Health Center, located at Two Meredyth Place, that opened in October.

“When we decided to put in the thoroughfares, we discussed what we were going to call them,” said Phoebe CEO Joel Wernick. “We scratched our heads and thought of only one option — that they be named after someone special.”

Considering her connections to Albany, which included raising a family here with Knight — with whom she was married to for 28 years — Lopez found it hard to hold back tears when trying to describe what the accolade meant to her.

“To be honored is very special,” she said following Thursday’s ceremony. “Phoebe Putney has been a part of my life for more than 20 years.

“It is very nice. When you stop playing golf, you don’t think about awards because you are not winning them anymore.”

Even though Knight still lives in the area and Lopez has now moved on to Auburn, Ala. to be near her youngest daughter, the former baseball player felt inclined to give his ex-wife most of the credit for their combined contributions to the region’s health care industry.

“I have never met anybody more special than her,” he said. “When Phoebe came to Nancy about (raising money) for hospice, they bypassed me and she became the face of the (Lopez Hospice Golf Classic) — and she became the right choice.

“The only thing wrong (with the street sign at the Nancy Lopez Lane and Ray Knight Way intersection) is that I am on the top. She should be on the top.”

Since 1986, the Lopez Hospice Golf Classic has generated funding for Albany Community Hospice, now based at Willson Hospice House. The 27th annual event is taking place at Doublegate Country Club today.