Virgil Knapp (BS '41), passed away September 1, 2006

1919-2006

Virgil Knapp, a former Purdue University Department of Entomology graduate, and former Associate State Entomologist and Acting State Entomologist, passed away September 1, 2006.  His funeral was in Zionsville today September 6, 2006.  He was buried at Crown Hill Cemetery, in Indianapolis.

Virgil was born May 11, 1919, in Berwyn, Illinois.

Virgil graduated from Purdue University with a combined degree in Horticulture and Entomology.  As a youth, he was twice a former state fair winner (Grand Champion) for the Entomology section. He knew Professor James Troop, the first State Entomologist for Indiana, who was originally appointed at Purdue University. Professor Troop was then retired but played an important ongoing role in the life of the Department for many years, until his death. Professor Troop stayed at Purdue as the State Horticulturalist, rather than move to Indianapolis where the State Entomologist position was reassigned in 1906. Virgil as a Purdue student helped to incorporate the Blatchley collection into the Purdue Collection and organize all the boxes and manuscripts donated by Blatchley to the Department.  

Virgil had a number of careers.  He served in World War II in the navy where he saw much action in the Pacific Theatre including Iwo Jima.  It is my understanding that he was attached to a general's corps as an attache'.  Upon returning form the military,  he ran three orchards and developed a spraying company which treated for various pests including termites.  He authored several early papers on treatments for termites and was proud of his early work in this area.  He then took over a family owned greenhouse in Zionsville and expanded the business to include greenhouse and nursery plants, landscaping services, a Christmas store, and several other components before selling it in 1966 when he became an inspector for the Indiana Department of  Natural Resources.  He served with distinction on many DNR programs, and rose to become Associate State Entomologist under James Clark and then served as Acting State Entomologist. He was also recognized as one of the nations practicing aphidologists and contributed many papers on Indiana aphid species, their identification, and their biologies.  A major collection of subterranean, root feeding aphids and their ant associates were donated to the Illinois Natural History Survey in 1989. In 1989 Virgil hired Robert Waltz as State Entomologist and then retired from the Department in 1989 after 23 years with the DNR. Upon his retirement he left the DNR to become the well loved Garden Doctor at Altum Gardens in Zionsville, IN,  where he served every summer season for 16 years.  He served Altums until April of 2006.

Virgil was a strong supporter of field entomology.  He was a founding member of the Horticultural Inspectors Society, a society for regulatory nursery inspectors, to improve inspecting skills and to make regulatory actions taken in various states similar one to another. The first chapter was started in the Midwest (Central Plant Board region) but now Chapters exist in every plant board region of the United States, modeled after the Central Chapter program.  He was active in DNR's  early pesticide regulation and registration issues, largely responsible for seeing that employees in DNR were abiding by the then new pesticide registration laws that were being rapidly developed.

Virgil was a Mason with high levels of responsibility.

He was also very involved in his community of Zionsville, where he spent much of mid years, ran his family greenhouse, operated his pest control business, raised his family and served until his death.  He was active on the local planning board in late 1950's or early 1960's and helped develop many of the tree regulations that provide Zionsville with its community character and abundant shade trees.

He lived a rich and full life.  He had two daughters and two sons.  He was preceded in death by Rosalind W. Knapp (deceased 2001), a graduate of Indiana University.