George Russel Knepper, 77, of Port Angeles, passed away on September 3rd, 2021, at St. Michaels Medical Center in Silverdale, after suffering a heart attack the previous day.

George was born February 3, 1944, the only child of Russel and Margaret (Detwiler) Knepper in Lancaster, Ohio. He graduated from Canal Winchester High School in 1962, served in the US Navy from 1962 to 1966, and spent two years in the Naval Reserve. He was assigned to Patrol Squadron 17 NAS Whidbey Island.

He met and married Roberta (Robin) Lynn Allison while living in Newport Beach, CA after his military service. They married in 1970 and divorced in 1977. While in California, he attended college and studied Engineering.

George worked for the Washington State Department of Game in the 70's as a Harvest Census Specialist, along with other projects. In 1977 he accepted a job with the Department of Natural Resources on the Olympic Peninsula, as a survey crew member. He worked for the DNR until 1984, at which time he moved to Seattle to take a position as a bridge inspector for the Department of Transportation. He retired from the DOT in the early 2000's and returned to Port Angeles.

Many hobbies interested George over the years, including running 5k's to half-marathons, kayaking, mountain climbing, sailing and playing/listening to bluegrass music. He became good friends with many local and regional musicians and hosted them during local gigs in the 80's. Feed a musician and they are family for life!

Flying ended up being George's biggest passion. From trips all over the country (including Alaska) and Canada, to aerobatics in a Russian stunt plane, everything was a wonderful adventure to George. Needless to say, he made hundreds of aviation friends over the past 38 years and stayed in contact with dozens of them. His favorite people were Ken and Marge Hansen, former owners of Rite Bros Aviation. At Rite Bros he soloed and received his private pilot's license in 1983 and earned his instrument rating. While living in Seattle, he and a friend purchased a Russian Yakovlev-55 aerobatic plane. When he retired and moved back to Port Angeles, he brought the Yak with him and taught himself how to do stunts. He and a few local pilots entertained residents of the Lake Sutherland area and upper Deer Park/Blue Mountain with their mock dog fights.

George enjoyed mentoring young pilots and encouraged them in their goals, whether it was to be a professional pilot or just for the love of flying.

George is survived by his many loving friends. In lieu of flowers, please contact Cam Field for donations to charities George cared about.

There will be a Celebration of Life on Saturday, October 2, 2021, beginning at 11 a.m., at J.D. Crow's hangar at the William Fairchild International Airport. A Missing Man flight will be included. Please call Cam Field at 360-460-6658 for gate access.

Drennan & Ford Funeral Home in Port Angeles was entrusted with his arrangements. Please sign the online guestbook for his family at www.drennanford.com .