Joseph (Joe) R. Knisley of Bronxville, NY died peacefully on May 30, 2026 at age 93, after a long

decline. He is survived by his brother Bill, his niece, Alice Knisley Matthias, his nephew: Christopher

Knisley and his grandnephews, Gavin and Geoffrey. He is predeceased by his brother Ralph and sister-in-

law, Jane.

Joe was born on August 31, 1932 in Baltimore, MD, the son of Ralph and Josephine (Rochlitz) Knisley. 

He was raised with his two brothers in Middle Village in Queens, NY.

After graduating from high school, he joined the U.S. Navy and trained as an electronics technician

(1951-54). He served on the minesweeper USS Wheatear, patrolling the Atlantic coast.

After his discharge from the Navy, he attended Queens College in Flushing, NY, where he majored in art,

graduating in 1958 with a Bachelors of Arts degree. While at Queens College he was editor-in-chief of

Silhouette, the college yearbook, art editor of Spectrum, a student-run literary-art magazine, a writer for

Rampart, a school newspaper, and vice-president of the Newman Club.

During his professional career Joe worked in New York City, mainly as a writer and editor for technical

journals, specializing in the fields of electricity and lighting. Among other positions, he worked on the

editorial staff of Electrical Wholesaling magazine and was Senior Editor and Lighting Consultant for

EC&M (Electrical Construction & Maintenance) magazine, a major trade publication for the electrical

industry. He continued his technical writing and consulting well into his 80’s. Among his publications is

Practical Guide to Modern Lighting Technology (Intertec Publishing Corp, 1992). In 1966 and 1968 he

received the Jesse H. Neal Award for Editorial Excellence, which stands as the most prestigious award

program honoring excellence in business-to-business (B2B) journalism and specialized media.

Throughout his life Joe was a very skilled artist and cartoonist. In 1957 he won first-prize in watercolors

at the annual Long Island Amateur Artists Award at the Suffolk Museum in Stony Brook, Long Island,

NY. Throughout his life he continued to paint, especially watercolors and pencil drawings. Those who

own them treasure them. Joe also drew innumerable cartoons–with very funny drawings and somewhat

zany captions–giving them to his friends on their birthdays for many years. 

Joe was known as an inveterate joke-teller and all his conversation was laced with humorous remarks. 

Throughout his life Joe was a serious Catholic and a man of deep Christian faith who helped many other

people to deepen their faith. 

A Mass of Christian Burial for Joe will be celebrated at the Church of Saint Joseph on Saturday June 5 9:45am (15 Cedar Street,

Bronxville, NY 10708). Immediately following will be the burial at Gate of Heaven Cemetery (10 West

Stevens Ave, Hawthorne, NY 10532).

Following the burial there will be reception at Overlook Study Center (99 Overlook Cir, New Rochelle,

NY 10804)

Memorial donations may be made to Woodlawn Foundation at 56 Harrison St., Suite 401, New Rochelle,

NY 10801.

https://www.woodlawnfoundation.org/