Richard William Knepper

Richard W. Knepper (January 30, 1947-November 15, 2017) The Honorable Richard William Knepper, of Perrysburg, Ohio, passed away peacefully at his home on Wednesday, November 15, 2017, after a brief illness. He was born to Charles W. Knepper and Elizabeth (Wilson) Knepper on January 30, 1947, in Toledo, OH. He was predeceased by his father. He graduated from Woodward High School, and received both his B.S. in Business Administration-Finance, and Doctor of Jurisprudence degrees from the University of Toledo, where he received the American Jurisprudence Award. He began the private practice of law in 1973. In 1976, he served as City of Toledo prosecutor and assistant city law director and, in 1983, he began a 13-year run as judge in the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas. In 1987 and in 1994, he served as the Court’s Administrative Judge and in 1990, as the Presiding Judge. In 1997, he was appointed by Gov. George Voinovich to the District Court of Appeals, Sixth Appellate District, a position which he served from 1997 to 2005. Judge Knepper was also an instructor with the Ohio Common Pleas Judges’ Association and Ohio Judicial College. For several years, he sat as a visiting judge, by appointment of the Ohio Supreme Court, on cases throughout northwest Ohio. Upon his retirement from the bench, Judge Knepper opened Richard W. Knepper & Associates, Ltd., a mediation/arbitration firm in Perrysburg. He was a member of the Ohio Bar Association, the Toledo Bar Association, the Lucas County Bar Association, and a former member of the Ohio Court of Appeals Judges’ Association, Ohio Community Corrections Advisory Board and the Common Pleas Judges’ Association Board of Directors, International Dispute Resolution Board of Directors, and the University of Toledo College of Law Foundation Board. Other past board service includes the Riverside Mercy Hospital Board, Ohio Community Corrections Advisory Board, president of St. John’s Jesuit High School Father’s Club, Lucas County Board of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services, Toledo Youth for Christ Board, chair of the Substance Abuse Services Board, Cordelia Martin Health Center Board, chairman of the Maumee Valley Broadcasting Company Proclaim FM Board, Court Diagnostic and Treatment Center Board, and the Josina/Lott Foundation Board. He was a Life Member of the University of Toledo Alumni Association, a member of the UT Law Alumni Association, and a member of Alpha Sigma Phi, where he enjoyed many lifelong friendships with his fraternity brothers. In 1993, he was inducted into the Woodward High School Hall of Fame. In his leisure time, Richard enjoyed playing golf and reading on the deck of his Pinehurst, NC, lake house, or fishing near his cabin in the North Carolina mountains. He loved the camaraderie of his Bible study prayer group. In retirement, his passion and pleasure became researching and writing his book, titled Darwin and the Constitution, the Secularization of American Law Schools and the American Legal World View. But most of all, he cherished being with his wife, his children, and being Poppy to his 6 grandchildren, who all formed the center of his life, and with whom he shared his remarkable sense of humor. Friends and family will remember his drawn out jokes with crazy punch lines, and his pride in being a self-proclaimed “luddite.” He is survived by his wife Jacqueline (Knowlton) Knepper; son Andrew William (Jennifer Ward), Clayton, NC, daughter Katherine Elizabeth Heinold, and son-in law,Ronald Heinold, Perrysburg, OH, and six grandchildren: Emerson Louise Knepper, Whitman William Knepper and Meryle Mae Knepper, and Grace Elizabeth Heinold, Anne Kinsman Heinold, Clare Gentry Heinold; He is survived by his mother, Elizabeth (Wilson) Knepper, and sisters Carol (Gary) Fritz and Janet (Robert) Peart, and many nieces and nephews. The family would like to give special thanks to his many caregivers and loving family and friends. Visitation will be at the Witzler Shank Funeral Home, 222 E. South Boundary St., Perrysburg, OH, (419-874-3133) on Sunday, November 19, from 3:00 to 7:00 pm. His memorial service will be held Monday, November 20, 2017 at Grace United Methodist Church, 601 E. Boundary Street, Perrysburg, OH, at 11:00 am. Contributions may be sent to Grace United Methodist Church, Perrysburg, where he was a member, or to the charity of the donor’s choice.