Dr. Bill G. Knepper

Dr. Bill G. Knepper, 89, of Dakota Dunes died Dec. 19, 2011, at Touchstone Living Center in Sioux City. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Jan. 7, 2012, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1201 W. Clifton, in Sioux City. A visitation with the family will take place at 10:00 a.m. A military interment will follow at 2:00 p.m. at Memorial Park Cemetery. Arrangements under the direction of Meyer Brothers Morningside Chapel. Bill Knepper was born Sept. 5, 1922, in Sioux City, Iowa, the son of Montford and Gertrude Knepper. He graduated from South Sioux City High School in June, 1941. He attended Wayne State College for a semester and then joined the Marines, serving in combat during World War II at Guadalcanal. He was awarded the Purple Heart. He then contracted malaria and was returned stateside. He joined into the V-12 program to become an officer and continued his education at Colgate and Notre Dame. The war ended before he could be commissioned. He then he attended the University of Minnesota, where he received his B.A. and M.A. Degrees in June 1946 and March 1949 respectively. In 1967 he was awarded a Ph.D. degree in English from the University of Nebraska--Lincoln. Bill married Lorraine on Thursday Sept. 27, 1945 and celebrated their Thursday anniversary weekly thereafter. They raised three sons and a daughter in Sioux City. Bill worked as an independent insurance agent and later for Murray's Insurance Agency until 1957. He then began his career at Morningside College, where he taught in the English Department until he retired in 1986. During his years at Morningside, Bill was promoted to full professor and served for more than fifteen years as chair of the English Department. He also served on the college's Board of Directors. Bill served his community in many roles. He was President of the Sioux City chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, a member of the executive board of the NAACP, and a board member of the Community Action Agency of Siouxland. He was a long-time member and, for a time, the National President of the American Interprofessional Institute. For nearly five decades he was an active member in the Sioux City Unitarian congregation and served the church in various leadership roles. More recently, he joined son Monte's family in the Church of the Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and became an elder in the Sioux City Second Ward. Bill enjoyed traveling. He led trips to New York City and London while at Morningside and also traveled to Sweden several times to visit relatives. After retirement, he and Lorraine traveled around the United States in their R.V. They developed a special love for the Black Hills. Gardening was another hobby. Bill became a Master Gardener. Throughout his life he was a reader, photographer, and writer. He authored several articles on George Bernard Shaw and other literary figures. A man with a loving spirit and a keen sense of social justice, Bill also enjoyed family and friends and was a role model to his students. Survivors include three sons and one daughter and their spouses, Monte and Becki Knepper of Dakota Dunes, John and Marty Knepper of Sioux City, Dana Knepper and Cindy Stadler of Glendale, California, and Laura and Ron Switzer of Rapid City; a brother John Thomas Knepper of Milford, Connecticut, his wife Ellen, and his children Chris and Dian; grandchildren and their spouses and children including Corinna and Andrew Troth and their children Bailey and Justin, Sarah and Jay Fury, Robin Knepper, Lynn and Kyle Grauman and their daughter Elsa, Kurtis Switzer, Gretchen Ainge and her children Abbigail and Jordyn, and Heather and Eric Lyman and their children Janie, Sam, Kate, Will, and Joseph. He was preceded in death by his wife, Lorraine Knepper, and his parents, Montford and Gertude Knepper. Memorial donations may be made to Hospice of Siouxland, 4300 Hamilton Blvd., Sioux City, IA 51104.