William Hedrick Knapper

Knapper, Dr. William H. ?Bill?, 71, distinguished surgical oncologist of New York and native of St. Petersburg, died April 5, 2005, of acute heart attack. Dr. Knapper was born on September 20, 1933 in Hanover, PA, the only child of Howard and Jesse Knapper. As a youngster, Bill, with his family, moved to St. Petersburg, where Howard Knapper, a prominent physician and surgeon, continued his private practice. Bill attended Mirror Lake Junior High School and then graduated from St. Petersburg High School?s class of 1951, where he was a member of DeMolay and the National Honor Society. While a junior in high school, Bill met his future bride, Barbara Jean Biringer, who he married on June 12, 1954. Bill graduated from the University of Florida and was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha and was a devoted Gator Fan. After graduation from college, Bill followed in the footsteps of his father, Dr. Howard Knapper, and pursued a career in medicine and surgery. He received an MD Degree from Temple Medical school in Philadelphia following which he did an internship at Reading Hospital in Reading, PA. A year later, he returned to Temple University Hospital having decided on a career in surgery and spent the next four years training in a surgical residency. Following this, he became board certified by the American Board of Surgery and also became a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. From 1967 to 1969, Bill, interested in cancer surgery, was awarded a fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. After completing his fellowship, his performance as a fellow was so outstanding that he was asked to join the attending staff of the Gastric and Mixed Tumor and Breast Services, now a fully-trained surgical oncologist. As such, Dr. Knapper was an authority on cancers involving the entire gastrointestinal system, as well as the liver, pancreas and spleen. As part of his expertise in the mixed tumor field, he was an expert in the surgical management of melanoms, sarcomas of the extremities and retroperitoneal areas. Early on he also did pediatric surgical oncology until a special service for that discipline was established. Later on in his career he switched his emphasis and interests to the management of breast cancer and was among the first in the nation to approach breast cancer surgical treatment more conservatively with emphasis on breast preservation. In addition to caring for patients, Bill was responsible for the training of a myriad of surgical oncology fellows who came after him. Many of these trainees have gone on to be heads of surgical oncology programs in the United States and abroad. At Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, from 1967 until his retirement in 1994, Bill reached the full rank of attending surgeon; he was for a period of time Chief of the Castric and Mixed Tumor Service. At NY Cornell Medical School and Hospital, he was associate professor of Clinical Surgery. He was president of the Memorial Hospital Alumni Society from 1989-1990. He has written a number of scientific papers on many aspects of surgical oncology which have been published in the medical literature. Outside Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Bill was a member of the Society of Surgical Oncology, the New York State Medical Society, the American College of Surgeons, the American Medical Association and many other associations too numerous to mention. In his youth, motorcycles were his passion, and he often recalled riding his bike from Pass-a-Grille all the way up to Redington Beach and beyond. An avid sports fan, he was interested in boating, football and hockey. He once turned down a membership to the prestigious NY Surgical Society which met on Wednesday nights because it interfered with his tickets to the NY Rangers hockey games playing in Madison Square Garden at the same time. Following his retirement, Bill and his wife, Barbara returned to his roots in St. Petersburg, after living in Pelham, NY for over 25 years. In St. Petersburg, he was a member of the Bucketeers and St. Petersburg Yacht Club. The only thing Bill loved more than his work and sports were his wife and family. Survivors include his wife of 50 years, Barbara B. Knapper, 2 daughters, Brenda K. Wayne of Pelham, NY and Beverly B. Knapper of St. Petersburg, a son, William P. Knapper of St. Petersburg, and 2 grandsons, Mark Wayne and William Knapper. Anderson-McQueen Funeral & Cremation Centers, - N.E. St. Petersburg