May 19, 2003
Walter F. Kneip Jr., a former manager at Crown Cork & Seal Co. Inc. who was a member of the 1932 U.S. Olympic lacrosse team, died of cancer Friday at Gilchrest Center for Hospice Care. He was 91 and was a longtime resident of Towson.
Born in Syracuse, N.Y., he moved to Baltimore with his family in 1913 and attended local schools.
He was a 1928 graduate of Forest Park High School and a 1932 graduate of the Johns Hopkins University, where he played lacrosse and was a member of Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity.
Mr. Kneip was a member of the 1932 lacrosse team that represented the United States at the Olympics in Los Angeles. He also played lacrosse for the Mount Washington Club team and was team captain in 1939.
In 1933, he went to work for Crown Cork & Seal. As manager of the screw-cap division, he was instrumental in developing a twist-off vacuum cap that was widely used by the company.
He left the company in 1956 to become a sales representative and marketing executive specializing in glass products. He worked for a number of companies, including Tygart Valley Glass Corp., Brockway Glass Co. and Anchor Hocking Glass Co. He also worked in the sales departments of the former Baltimore Box Co. and the former MacMillan Bloedel Inc. before he retired in 1991.
Mr. Kneip also was an avid golfer and is credited with three holes-in-one at area courses.
He was a member of the Mount Washington Club, where he was president in 1945 and 1948. He also was a member of the Johns Hopkins Club, Hunt Valley Golf Club and Hillendale Country Club.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. today at Ruck Funeral Home, 1050 York Road, Towson.
He is survived by his wife of 64 years, the former Phyllis Horsey; two sons, Walter F. Kneip III and Philip Kneip, both of Baltimore; one daughter, Mary K. Tyrrell of Virginia Beach, Va.; four grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
