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James Knap

1922 ~ 2023 (age 101) 101 Years Old

James Knap Obituary

James Seymour Knap, of Lynbrook, NY, passed away peacefully on September 30, 2023. He was 101.

James Knap was born in Boston, MA on January 1, 1922 to Dorothy Harding Knap and Thomas Seymour Knap of Ogdensburg, NY. He grew up in Ogdensburg and spent his summers on the Knap family island in Chippewa Bay. He was educated at Mount Hermon Prep School and graduated from St. Lawrence University. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps during World War II to join their officers training program, serving in Japan to accept the Japanese surrender.

After serving as a USMC officer for a number of years following the end of WW II, he and his wife Betty Green Knap, also of Ogdensburg, decided on a civilian life for their growing family. Mr. Knap transitioned to the USMC Reserves in 1952, when he moved his family to Lynbrook, Long Island to begin his 25 year career with Reuben H. Donnelley Corp., located in Manhattan. As a lifelong USMC Reservist obtaining the rank of full Colonel, he became the Commanding Officer of the Garden City Reserve Battalion, the largest USMC Reserve Battalion in the nation.

Mr. Knap was an avid sailor throughout his life, undertaking many extended trips in his sailboat, and later, in his trawler, both solo and with family or friends. He enjoyed woodworking in his spare time, developing into a skilled craftsman who produced fine furniture. He enjoyed duck hunting for many years in both Chippewa Bay and on Long Island in the Great South Bay area.

Mr. Knap was predeceased by his wife of 45 years, Betty, who died in 1993, and by three younger sisters – Elizabeth Anne Knap in 2003, Susan Knap Manes in 2013, and Jane Knap Gustafson in 2021. He is survived by his three children, David Seymour Knap, Susan Knap Browning, and Pattie Knap Rymer, and by three grandchildren, James Monosmith, Kimberly Browning, and Allen Browning and by two great-grandchildren, Penelope and Beckham.

A private memorial gathering will be held next summer when his remains will be put to rest next to his beloved wife in the Ogdensburg Cemetery.