William L. Knappenberger III ’47

Bill died on May 5, 1999, in Pittsburgh.

He was born and raised in Vandergrift, Pa. After graduating from high school, he matriculated at Michigan State U. as a premedical student. His studies were interrupted by WWII, during which he served as a ward attendant at Tilton General Hospital.

After military service, he entered Princeton and graduated with an associate of arts degree. Bill earn his MD at New York U. in 1949 and interned at St. Francis Hospital in Pittsburgh from 1949-50.

Before beginning his residency, he practiced privately in the West Virginia coal fields. From 1952-54, Bill completed his residency in internal medicine at St. Francis Hospital and at the Veterans Hospital in Aspinwall, Pa. Thereafter, Bill was in private practice until he retired in 1986. During these years he was on the staff at Shadyside Hospital in Pittsburgh. The Allegheny County [Pa.] Medical Society was among his several memberships in medical associations.

Bill was involved with the local school board, the Allegheny County Employee Health Service, and the Sera-Tec Plasmapheresis Collection Center.

His wife of 48 years, Mary Olevniczak, died in 1995. To his sons, George and William; daughters, Jane Phillips and Mary Pelton; and his seven grandchildren, the class extends its deepest sympathy.

The Class of 1947