Obituary of Willard O. McKNIGHT, as printed in the St. Joseph (MI) Herald-
Palladium, 13 Jan 1999, page 11A:

"Willard O. McKnight, 87, of St. Joseph, died Monday, Jan. 11, 1999, at
Lakeland Medical Center, St. Joseph.

Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 15, at Dey Florin
Chapel, Florin Funeral Service, St. Joseph. Memorials may be made to the
Lakeland Medical Center, St. Joseph.

Mr. McKnight was born Feb. 11, 1911, in Grand Rapids, Mich., and was raised in
Kalamazoo. During World War II, he was an Army Air Corps chief control tower
operator at an air base in the interior of China. After the war, he moved to
St. Joseph, where he was active in Kiwanis, Twin Cities Safety Council Board,
The Community Fund Drive, and was one of the founders of IMTP (Industrial
Management Training Program) and was also a member of ARIC (Area Resources
Improvement Council). He received a master's degree from the University of
Chicago and was vice-president of The J.C. Lauber Co., in South Bend, Ind.,
retiring in 1979. He was an avid reader of non-fiction and enjoyed listening
to classical music. He also enjoyed hunting and fishing. He was a member of
Berrien Hills Country Club for more than 40 years.

Survivors include his wife, the former Carol Ward; two daughters - Claire
(Gregory) Allison of Omaha, Neb., and Lynell (Ken) Kennedy of Virginia Beach,
Va.; two brothers - Gordon (Patricia) McKnight of St. Joseph, and Boyd
(Lottie) McKnight of Thousand Oaks, Calif.; one sister - Gladys Splithoff of
Danville, Calif.; and four grandchildren."