Karl Knecht
10/10/1952 to 3/30/2016 (aged 63)
Many of us first met Karl when he attended St. Joseph’s Catholic School. The rest of us met him when he attended Gorman his freshman and sophomore years. When you read the comments about him on our Facebook page, his obituary or if you knew him at all, he was truly a kind soul.
Karl died suddenly on March 30th, 2016. He was born in Hartford City, Indiana to Russell and Ruth Knecht on October 10th, 1952. They moved to Las Vegas when he was 5. He attended the University of Nevada, Reno receiving a degree in Turf Management in 1972, and began his career in landscape maintenance that year.
He married Jan Morehead of Chico in 1973 and lived in Carson City, Nevada. They moved to Chico in 1975 and a built a house and greenhouse on the family property. Karl worked for various landscape contractors in Chico and obtained his own contractor's license in 1979. He and Jan began developing their business, River Oak Nursery which they have owned for 36 years.
He loved working outside and beautifying our neighborhoods. Karl was a man of few words and prided himself on never having touched a computer. He is survived by his wife, Jan Knecht, daughters Krista and Kimberly and Grandson Noah, which he adored, as well as his brother William Knecht of Oregon. In lieu of flowers, plant a tree in his honor.
Published by Chico Enterprise-Record from Apr. 6 to Apr. 7, 2016.