John Bevis Knezovich

Obituary John Bevis Knezovich was born in Peoria, Illinois, September 18, 1946. He graduated from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign in 1969 with a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy. He was a Cubs fan and a Bud man - helping to bring Anheuser-Busch to his beloved Fort Collins when he was mayor in the early 1980s. He died September 5, 2020, following a long struggle with Type I diabetes and Parkinsonisms. John was a Certified Public Accountant and auditor, active in Fort Collins' business and civic life since 1972. He loved his work and eventually partnered with Paul Williams to form what is now KW CPAs. He only retired when his diseases brought an end to his effectiveness. He won the Colorado Society of CPAs' Public Service Award in 1985. For many years he was involved with the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce, including the Economic Development Task Force and Local Legislative Affairs Committee. He was in the Chamber's first Leadership Fort Collins class. He believed strongly in public involvement, civic duty and good government. John was elected to Fort Collins City Council in 1981 and was Mayor 1983-1984. He was a board member of the Platte River Power Authority and the policy board advisory committee of the American Public Power Association. He was on the executive board of the Colorado Municipal League. He was a board member of the Juvenile Services Planning Committee and served on the Colorado Judicial Performance Commission. He was a trustee and treasurer of the Poudre River Public Library District for eight years during the district's start-up, then became treasurer for the Poudre River Library Trust. Playing on his last name, one of his earliest campaign slogans was, "The K is not silent." Beginning in 1989, he was an outspoken columnist on local governmental and civic issues for the Coloradoan, the Triangle Review, Fort Collins Forum and the Northern Colorado Business Report. As active as he was publicly, his first commitment was to his family. John comes from a large, boisterous, opinionated and loving Croatian family, raised in Peoria and the southeast side of Chicago, Illinois. He cherished his loving wife, who played an important moderating role in his life and cared for him throughout. He loved and was very proud of his children, an Episcopal priest and a technical officer for the World Health Organization. He was supportive, kind and generous to family members and friends, near and far. The ravages of his chronic debilitating diseases impacted his body and mind increasingly over the last decades. He made the most of his life while he could. He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Georgiana (Jana) Knezovich; his daughter, Rebecca Kirkpatrick (Cara); son Jeffrey Bruce Knezovich (Christopher Vanja); five sisters and brothers: Kathy Preckshot; Steve Knezovich (Deb); Janis Kidd (Steve); Tony Knezovich (Linda); Jeffrey Paul Knezovich (Kim); close cousins including Phyllis Perko (Nick Harlovic) and Tom Perko (Carol) as well as many nephews, nieces and "greats". A service is planned for Saturday, September 12 at 11 am. It will be livestreamed at www.john.knezzy.com. More information is available there and at VesseyFuneralService.com. In lieu of flowers, consider a donation to the Poudre River Library Trust or the Food Bank for Larimer County. Read More Services You can still show your support by sending flowers directly to the family, or by planting a memorial tree in the memory of John Bevis Knezovich