Tributes

Richard Knoblich was crowned the biggest liar in the state of West Virginia, and he’d gleefully show you his golden shovel trophy to prove it if he hadn’t died this week. And if the death of a famed liar sounds dubious, we get it. Just to be sure, you can visit him on Tuesday, July 2 from 5-7pm at Grisell Funeral Home and Crematory, 400 Jefferson Ave., Moundsville, where funeral services will be held Wed., July 3 at 10:30am with Rev. John Morrison officiating. Richard grew up the middle child between beloved sisters Libby and Nancy, and dedicated a significant portion of his life to entertaining and teasing them in equal measure. He married his high school sweetheart, Sharon. For 48 years they had an amazing marriage … even if Richard was more popular at parties and her friends always looked a little disappointed if he couldn’t make it. He could liven a room up, even in his final days. They had a son, Trevor. Richard remembered that as a child, Trevor would concoct increasingly complicated schemes for family road trips. Richard would initially say no, absolutely not, but somehow *always* ended up taking Trevor on these adventures. Trevor once interviewed him for a school project. More than anything, Richard loved talking, so he was eager to participate. When asked what having a kid was like, Richard told Trevor that children expand your heart, growing your capacity for love immeasurably. And that’s the thing about Richard: While he was usually irreverent and occasionally an impatient grouch, he could stun you with his sentimentality. This was especially apparent spending time with his granddaughter, Eva, daughter of Trevor and his wife, Elizabeth Price. Richard brought terrific Grandpa energy to reading Eva bedtime stories and was always making her laugh. Like Sharon, Richard spent his career as a public elementary school teacher with Marshall County Schools. He earned his own way through college at West Liberty by working in the cafeteria and other odd jobs. Richard was especially interested in specific scientific fields: geology, astronomy and physics. Richard would translate his love of physics into grade school lessons, and was famed for his classroom closet full of things that made noise or moved in a wave motion or whatever else might be interesting to kids *and* offer a sneaky lesson to boot. Biology, however, was not in his top three, which was super unfortunate because Sharon and Trevor were always dragging some kind of weird animal into the house. Some were part of Sharon’s classroom teachings, and he’d put up with various critters living in the garage until they could be released safely into the wild. Trevor brought home creatures for more permanent residence from the Marshall County Animal Shelter: dogs, parakeets and a memorable ferret, Merv. Merv was a petty thief, dragging potatoes, Christmas ornaments and other objects to stash under a bed. Richard loved Merv’s chaotic energy, and any other mischievous animal for that matter. That was kind of how it went. Richard groused about every shelter pet the family adopted. Yet inevitably, he would form the closest bond with each one, irritating Sharon and Trevor who’d been more excited to have a pet around in the first place. Richard had too many hobbies to recount, among them photography, kite flying, woodworking, and architecture, which included dragging his family to every stupid lighthouse on the East Coast. He loved music so much that after marrying Sharon, he spent all the money they had on a really nice stereo. Newlyweds take note: this is extremely bad financial planning. But you know what else? That stereo still works, and it still sounds *great*, so you might hear some Rolling Stones or Paul Simon blasting over the next day or two in his memory. Richard was handy, too. With Sharon’s help, he planned and built a beautiful two-story deck on the side of the family house, and a play fort for Trevor, which even included a zip line before they were cool! Richard laid a brick sidewalk around the house, as well. When it finally had to be redone, this time by professional contractors, the contractors were amazed at the craftsmanship. Richard learned how to do all of this from books at the Wheeling Public Library, one of his favorite spots. As he neared retirement, his proclivity for a good joke and a long story evolved into telling increasingly exaggerated tall tales. He began performing traditional Appalachian storytelling all around the region, and won multiple awards. It made his family proud, at least as much as, “I’m related to the biggest liar in West Virginia” can make one proud. Even his mother, Jean, loved it, and she was a tough sell! Richard eventually self published a book of his stories, one of his proudest accomplishments. In perhaps the most memorable incarnation of his work, he wrote a story about the historical collapse of the Wheeling Suspension Bridge for local publication Weelunk. It was so amusing and strangely plausible that a historian contacted him to ask for his sources. When Richard explained he made most of the details up, the historian laughed and asked if she could include the story in a history book anyway – clearly labeled as fiction, of course. It got published, and Richard boasted about that until his dying day. He became increasingly obsessed with the history of Wheeling and nearby resort park, Oglebay. Being Richard, he managed to turn his hobby into a paid gig. He gave lectures on the history of the park to anyone who would listen, including bus tours at Christmas time at Oglebay. Buses were great for this; after all, there’s nothing better than a captive audience. To his family, Richard would report how well his terrible puns were received on each tour. If you’re still reading this, it’s important to know that in his final years, he developed a love for sassy obituaries full of personality. Hopefully, we met his standards. He was born January 21, 1953 and died at 71 years old on Saturday, June 29, 2024 at WVU-Wheeling Hospital, surviving his parents, Albert and Jean Clouston Knoblich. He said he was ready, but a bunch of us were not, including his sisters Libby and Nancy, wife Sharon, son Trevor (Elizabeth), granddaughter Eva and several nieces and nephews. Memorial contributions may be made to any of the following: American Cancer Society P.O. Box 6704 Hagerstown, MD 21741 Marshall County Animal Shelter 37 Animal Shelter Dr. Moundsville, WV 26041 The Strand Theater 811-5th Street Moundsville, WV 26041 Sympathy expressions at grisellfuneralhomes.com.

Tributes

Richard K. Knoblich

January 21, 1953 - June 29, 2024