Obituary: James Knapp

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Mr. and Mrs. James Knapp

James Knapp, 94, of Manchester and also of Glen Head, N.Y., Hancock, N.Y. and Winter Haven, Fla., died Saturday, June 30, 2012 at his lake home with family. He was predeceased by his loving wife of 69 years, Elizabeth Knapp (Nichols).

Mr. Knapp was born in Cleveland, Ohio on March 23, 1918. He was the son of the late Clara Ann Jaeger and Leonard Wight Knapp. James was a WWII Veteran where he served aboard the Navy destroyer escort USS Tatum. He was honorably discharged with the rank of lieutenant commander. James was a graduate of Hofstra University where he met his wife and later attended Columbia University. He was employed by Dunn and Bradstreet in New York, CBS Lab in Stamford and Perkin Elmer in Norwalk where he was instrumental in designing the lens for the Hubble Telescope. James retired and moved to Florida where he enjoyed tennis, chess, softball and traveling the world with his wife. He was a member of the Rotary Club which enabled him to travel to Australia.

Mr. Knapp is survived by two daughters, Rev. Dr. Phyllis Norman and her husband Carl of Prospect and Kathryn Reynolds and her husband Ken of Natick, Mass.; one son, David Knapp of Torrington; one brother, Phillip Knapp and his wife Viola of Sherman; six grandchildren, Christopher (Cathy) Wuestefeld of Milford, N.J., Kirsten (Paul) Berube of Watertown, William (Brenda) Reynolds of Harwinton, Robert Reynolds of Salem, Mass., Matthew Knapp of Torrington, and Gregory Knapp of Torrington. He is also survived by five great-grandchildren, Justine, Mallory, Madeline, James, and Natalie.

James was predeceased by a sister, Marilyn Campbell.

A memorial service with full military honors presented at the church will be held on Sunday, August 5, 2012 at 5 p.m. at the Prospect Congregational Church, 25 Center St., Prospect. Burial was in Hancock, New York. There are no calling hours and the Buckmiller Brothers Funeral Home, 26 Waterbury Road, Rte. 69, Prospect is in charge of arrangements.