Former Woodville mayor Knapp dies

By Chris Edwards
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AUSTIN – Tom Knapp, a longtime Woodville businessman and civic leader, died in Austin, on Thursday, July 20, at the age of 82.

Knapp owned and operated the Knapp Ford dealership in Woodville for 20 years, until he sold it to Al Meyer, and moved to Taos, New Mexico, with his wife Joella, to enjoy retirement. Knapp also served several terms in city government, on the city council and as mayor.

Knapp was born in Toledo, Ohio, and spent much of his childhood in Texas. After serving in the Army, after college, the Knapps married and wound up in Houston, where he parlayed his love of Ford automobiles and travel into a position with Ford Motor Company as a field manager.

The Knapp family came to Woodville in 1977, and Tom purchased Jack Lane Ford in 1979. After living in New Mexico for several years in retirement, his obituary notes that he acknowledged in 2017 that he was ill with Alzheimer’s, and the couple moved to Austin to live the remaining years of his life.

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He was preceded in death by his wife, who died in 2018, of complications from ALS. While the Knapps were residents of Woodville, they were active in the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, where Tom played the organ, and the Lions Club.

A service for Tom Knapp is scheduled for 3 p.m., Saturday, August 12, at Haynie Cemetery in Del Valle.