JR
James R. Kniss
February 25, 1929 - October 27, 2013
Obituary
James R. Kniss of Aberdeen died on October 27 at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, in Baltimore. He was 84 years old.
He was born February 25, 1929 in Johnstown, PA to the late Dr. F. Roscoe and Tressa (Signorino) Kniss of Madera, Clearfield County, PA.
Mr. Kniss was a mathematician at Aberdeen Proving Ground at Ballistic Research Laboratories (BRL) from 1955 to 1965. From 1965 to 1970, he was Chief of the Nuclear Systems Section, Surveillance and Reliability Group. In 1973, he became Chief of the Electronics and Nuclear Systems Section for the US Army Materiel Systems Analysis Activity (AMSAA) for Reliability, Availability and Maintainability (RAM) Division, which included projects such as the Blackhawk helicopter and the M16 Rifle. As a Supervisory Operations Research Analyst, he was part of an AMSAA team study of the Arctic and Tropic Test Centers.
He joined the Army in July 1946, at age 17, and was assigned to General MacArthur's Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. He left the Army with the rank of Sergeant in 1948.
Mr. Kniss received his Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics at Penn State University in 1952 and his master's degree in Mathematical Statistics from the University of Delaware in 1961. He worked for the Bureau of Mines in Pittsburgh, PA from 1952-1955.
Upon his retirement from AMSAA in 1984, he taught in the Math Department at Towson University as a Senior Lecturer in mathematics and statistics from 1986 to 1996.
Mr. Kniss is survived by his wife of 50 years, Donna(Brown) Kniss of Aberdeen; a daughter, Mary Anne Kniss Zoccola and son-in-law, Paul Zoccola and granddaughters Alison and Katherine, of Gaithersburg, Maryland.
As a member of Grove Presbyterian Church, he served as an elder and on the Board of Deacons and Trustees.
Services will be at Grove Presbyterian Church in Aberdeen on Saturday, November 2. Visitation will be at 10:00 a.m. preceding the service at 11:00 a.m, with Rev. Merritt Schatz officiating. Interment will be in Altoona, PA at Alto Reste Park Cemetery. Contributions may be sent to Grove Presbyterian Church, 50 E. Bel Air Avenue.
Funeral Home:
Tarring-Cargo Funeral Home
333 South Parke Street
Aberdeen, MD
US 21001
Events
Visitation
Sat Nov 2, 2013 @ 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM EDT
Grove Presbyterian Church • 50 East Bel Air Avenue, Aberdeen, MD 21001
Service
Sat Nov 2, 2013 @ 11:00 AM EDT
Grove Presbyterian Church • 50 East Bel Air Avenue, Aberdeen, MD 21001
Photos
No photos of James have been shared yet.
Memories
RC
richard Cambier
Other •
Graduated from High school with Jimmie in 1946 and fished with his dad for trout at Spring Creek, State College, Pa. I also served in the Army In Japan and Korea.Madera High was a great school led by his father.
ER
Eric Reich
Other •
Hello! I am--right now--sitting at Towson University (TU) listening to orientation for my son. The speaker is talking about how a TU professor who helped her pass a class. Essentially, the speaker came to the professor after failing an initial exam. The professor helped her and the speaker passed the class. Hearing her story made me remember my similar experience when I went to TU from 1989-1991. My professor then was James Kniss. He was my Statistics professor. After I failed my first exam in his class, I went to him for help and he helped me tremendously. Ultimately, through his kindness and generosity of his time, I finished his class with a B. I was so proud and learned a valuable lesson. To date, James Kniss is the professor I remember by name from my time at TU. Although 10 years late, RIP Mr. Kiss. 🙏