L.W. 'Pete' Knapp Jr.

L.W. "PETE" KNAPP JR.

Iowa City

Lafayette Whitmore "Pete" Knapp Jr., 90, died Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015. Memorial services will be 1 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 29, at Congregational United Church of Christ, Iowa City. Visitation will be at Gay & Ciha Funeral and

Cremation Service from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28.

L.W. "Pete" Knapp was born in Erin, N.Y., on July 19, 1925, son of L.W. "Fay" and Jennie (Prince) Knapp. The family relocated to the Ithaca, N.Y., region, where Pete attended a one-room school through eighth grade taught by his mother, and graduated from Dryden High School in 1943. He later attended Cornell University, graduating with a M.S. in agricultural engineering in 1951. His master's thesis was a groundbreaking study on farm tractor rollover safety.

Upon graduation, Pete joined the Cornell University College of Agriculture as a district extension engineer for New York State, beginning a lifetime career in farm safety and public health. While at Cornell, he designed numerous farm structures for farmers in his district, wrote over 900 articles on farm safety and hosted a weekly radio program. He promoted the placement of the power take-off shield on tractors among other tractor safety features.

In 1959, Pete joined the faculty of the University of Iowa College of Medicine in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health. As the director of the accident prevention section of the Institute of Agricultural Medicine, he was instrumental in convincing the farm equipment industry to incorporate tractor rollover frames as a standard feature on tractors and protective housing around chains and gears on farm equipment. Both features protect farm equipment operators from life-threatening injuries due to contact with moving parts of their equipment.

Pete authored the grant received from Kellogg Foundation to construct the Accident Prevention Laboratory located on the Oakdale Campus of the University of Iowa which today carries on the groundbreaking work of preventing accidents in the home, the agricultural environment and with farm machinery.

Upon retirement as professor emeritus in 1988 from the University of Iowa, he and his wife, Jackie, became involved in helping to establish a coffee cooperative, a fruit farm and the Rotary Club of Marcala, Honduras. They also established a foundation providing scholarships to encourage young girls of Marcala to stay in school through the sixth grade.

In between his work and traveling, his hobbies were designing and constructing homes and buildings and often remodeling them over his lifetime.

Among Pete's numerous memberships in organizations, he was most passionate about belonging to Congregational United Church of Christ of Iowa City (past moderator), Acacia Fraternity (past national president), Rotary Club of Iowa City AM Club and Coralville North Corridor Rotary Club, American Society of Agricultural Engineers and International Association of Agricultural Medicine and Rural Health.

Pete served as a consultant to the International Labor Organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, an agency of the United Nations, and traveled throughout the world at its behest promoting agricultural safety.

Pete is survived by his daughter, Deborah (Dean Shannon) Knapp of Cornelius, N.C.; son, Christopher (Vernette) Knapp and grandsons, Thomas and Andrew Knapp, all of Iowa City; his sister, Sandra (Don) Swenson and niece, Mara Swenson, of Mount Vernon; and brother-in-law, Francis Frost, and niece, Brenda Frost Payne, of Ithaca, N.Y.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 65 years, his parents and a nephew, Brian Frost.

The family would like to extend their deep appreciation to the staff of Oaknoll Retirement Residence for its care of Pete and the members of the Rotary Club of Coralville North Corridor and especially Ted and Kay Carpenter for their kindness to Pete when he attended club meetings.

Memorials may be given in Pete's name to the Congregational Church of Iowa City, Hospice of Iowa City and The Oaknoll Foundation.

Online condolences may be sent for his family through the web at www.gayandciha.com.