On a beautiful day on December 23, 1934, a baby girl was born to the late Alejandro Valdez and Edna Sawyer Howard. They named her Maximina. She was the second to the last of nine children born of this union.
Maximina spent her childhood and young adulthood in Key West graduating from Frederick Douglass High School. She met Gene Knighten during his military tenure in Key West. They fell in love and married; their union begat two sons, Yul and Ricci. Through his military service they traveled the U.S. and upon his passing, Maximina returned to Key West with her two children to be with sisters and mother. Maximina worked many years for Key West Handprint and the Key West Convalescent Center in the laundry department. When she retired, she and her sister Consuelo cared for their mother full time together.
Maxi, as she affectionately was called, was a faithful member of Cornish Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church where she served on the Women's Home and Overseas Missionary Society as a missionary. Beyond her church service Maxie thoroughly enjoyed her soap operas, game shows, and just relaxing on the porch with her sister and neighbors.