Thomas George Knodell age 92 of San Antonio passed away on Thursday, January 26, 2023.  He was a graduate of St. Michael's High School and retired from CPS Energy after 35 years of service.  For the first 17 years he was a draftsman.  After taking a computer course at St. Mary's University he was selected to join the Management Informations Systems department at CPS where he remained until he retired.

Thomas was a faithful, life-long member of his local parish church choir.  He sang with the San Antonio Opera Chorus (the precursor of the San Antonio Master Singers) for a couple of seasons in the 1950's.  His parish choir service started at Our Lady of Grace from 1950 to 1961.  When he and his wife and young family moved to St Paul parish, he joined the choir there and served from 1961 through 1988.  In 1988 he moved to the choir at St Luke and sang there through the present.  For the last two decades, he gave his time to the choir at Morningside Manor twice a month.

He was passionate about classical music, especially the compositions of Tchaikovsky and Wagner.  In the 1950's he designed numerous stereo cabinets, specifying the dimensions of the cabinet and of the electronic components.  He subsequently assembled these furniture pieces so that others could enjoy their albums.  This was before stereo components were a commodity.  His children spent many hours listening to his classical albums, which planted and nurtured the seeds for the family's love of music.

He was detailed in everything he did.  Because of this attention to detail, he was able to fix virtually anything.  Over the years there was no project he couldn't tackle (electrical, plumbing, automotive, carpentry), nor any object he couldn't repair.  This was yet another area in which he served his family or anyone else who found themselves in need.

He expressed his artistic talents through photography and stained glass.  He photographed his growing family and was meticulous in creating beautiful photo albums to be enjoyed through the years.  He created a device that allowed him to view the negatives and mark them appropriately so that the prints that were subsequently made were framed as he desired.  In the mid 1970's he took a stained glass class offered by the city parks and recreation department after which he designed and made many beautiful pieces, large and small, primarily for family members, but also for sale at La Villita and by contract.

He showed his love and dedication to his family by the work of his skilled hands and his artist's eye for details.  This was the practical way he taught his children the importance of the Catholic faith, family, duty and responsibility,and the importance of education and saving.  He supported his wife and children in all music related endeavors which included voice lessons, learning to play various instruments, playing in bands in grade school and high school, playing and cantoring at church, and his wife's offering of piano lessons in their living room.

Mr. Knodell was preceded in death by his parents, Preston G. and Inez Whitaker Knodell; brother, Preston G. Knodell, Jr. and sister-in-law, Rosemary Necker Tips.

He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Dorothy (Dottie) Knodell and children: Elaine Bir (Tony), Tom Knodell (Deidre), Aaron (Ella), Audrey Meservey (Nick), James and son Noah, Julia; Matthew Knodell (Ana), Grace Kittle (Stephen) daughter Gliceria and son Levi, Matthew Jr, Katherine, Esther Standafer (Josh), Olivia; Vincent Knodell (Rosalie), Emily, George, Hannah Les Knodell (Missy), Christopher, Victoria; Laura Yelk (William), Megan, Bridget, William Jr; Thelma Montez (Steven), Nancy Cheng (Wan); Anabelle, Nathan, Emily, Andrew, Ryan, Lauren; sisters-in-law, Margaret Knodell, and Margie Petri; brother-in-law, John Necker (Carolyn); and numerous nieces and nephews.

FUNERAL SERVICES

Thursday, February 2, 2023

Visitation will begin at 6:00pm

Rosary to be recited at 7:00pm

All at St. Paul Catholic Church

350 Sutton @St. Cloud

Friday, February 3, 2023

Funeral Mass will be offered at 10:00am

also at St. Paul Catholic Church

There will not be a procession to the church Friday morning.

Interment will follow at

Holy Cross Cemetery

17501 Nacogdoches Rd.

There will be a reception after the graveside service at the

St. Paul Community Center at St Cloud and Donaldson Ave.

MEMORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to American Life League (https://www.all.org/) or

Abortion Survivors Network (https://abortionsurvivors.org/)