William ''Bill'' Knutson

William Knutson
“Bill”
Appleton

Age 61, passed away suddenly on Sunday at his home. He was born on January 3, 1941 in Rhinelander the son of the late William and Irene (Onson) Knutson, Sr. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee with a Bachelors Degree in Journalism. On March 5, 1983 he married Patricia Stenson at First United Methodist Church in Appleton. Bill started his journalism career at the Rhinelander Daily News. He came to Appleton in 1967 and started with the Post Crescent as the Police Beat reporter. He served as managing editor of the Post Crescent since 1983, retiring in January of 2002. He was a member of Brillion Faith United Methodist Church, and was a former member of many civic organizations in the Fox Cities Area. Bill was a past president of the Wisconsin Associated Press. He recently was cited by the State of Wisconsin for his years of excellence in Journalism, and was awarded the Dion Henderson Memorial Award for service to the Wisconsin Associated Press.

He is survived by his wife Rev. Patricia Knutson of Appleton, his children: Kerry (Steve) Zuelzke of Appleton, Craig (Janice) Knutson of Abrams, Wisconsin; Steve (Susan) Knutson of Atlanta, Georgia; and Kristy Knutson and fiancé John Seidler of Menasha; grandchildren: Hannah Knutson, Madeline Knutson, and Sabrina Knutson; his first wife and mother of his children Kathy Bates of Menasha; step grandchildren: Steve Zuelzke, Melissa Zuelzke, and Tracy Zuelzke; his brothers: Bobby (Nancy) Knutson of Atlanta, Georgia, Gary (Sherry) Knutson and Don (Debbie) Knutson, all of Rhinelander. He is also survived by his mother-in-law Marilyn Stenson of Green Bay, Wisconsin, his sisters-in-law Kathryn Stenson and her children Glenn and Kaylee Stenson; and Janet (Daniel) Fraker and their children Sarah, Amy, and Elliot.

He was preceded in death by parents, a brother-in-law Glenn Stenson, and his father-in-law Robert Stenson.

A funeral service will be conducted on Wednesday, September 11, 2002 at 3:00 PM at First United Methodist Church, 325 East Franklin Street in Appleton with the Revs. Kent Ingram, Joyce Rich, Diane Rew-Gottfried, Hee-Soo Jung, Stephen Polster, and Nancy Moffatt officiating. Visitation will be at the Wichmann Funeral Home on Tuesday from 4-7 PM and also on Wednesday at the church from 1:00 PM until the time of the service. A memorial fund is being established.

We will never forget our Dad’s zest for life; always wanting to be “at the scene” so he had more stories to tell. He was looking so forward to retirement, wanting to travel more and spend more time with friends, family, and especially grandkids. We never realized how many friends our Dad had and how many lives he touched. Our Dad always wanted to do the right thing, he treated people with respect and never once did he let his popularity go to his head. We are still not sure if our Dad knew how much he accomplished in his short 61 years; how many people admired him, how proud we were of him, or what an asset he was to the community.

We never were a “mushy” family, mostly steering away from getting too serious, but you were a great father, and we will miss you greatly. We love you, Dad!
We all love you, Bill!!

WICHMANN FUNERAL HOME
537 North Superior Street
Appleton 739-1231
www.wichmannfuneralhomes.com