Leo Knabke, 87, a lifelong Santa Clara County farmer and
orchardist, died April 4, 2003 in San Martin.
Leo Knabke, 87, a lifelong Santa Clara County farmer and orchardist, died April 4, 2003 in San Martin.
Leo, born March 20, 1916, was the sixth son of Joseph and Anna (Niehaus) Knabke, German immigrants and pioneer Santa Clara orchardists. Joseph and Anna raised George, Joe, Frank, Bill, Robert and Leo on their prune ranch on Reed Avenue in Santa Clara (now Sunnyvale). Leo attended St. Clare’s Grammar School and Santa Clara High School, both in Santa Clara.
On August 19, 1945, Leo married Katherine M. Imwalle of Santa Rosa. They, too, raised a family and farmed on Reed Avenue, as did Leo’s brother, Bill.
Leo won awards for tomato production tonnage in the 1960s.
As northern Santa Clara County became Silicon Valley, Leo and Katherine (Kay) looked for a more rural farm site. In 1970, they moved to San Martin and raised pears and walnuts.
For the past 15 years, Leo was “officially” retired, but tended the fruit trees surrounding his house and his abundant summer garden. Until this year, he could be seen on his tractor, “working the ground.”
Leo was a member of St. Mary’s Parish, an Elk, a former member of the San Martin Planning Committee and the Farm Bureau.
Leo is survived by his daughter Louise Knabke Allen and her husband Gary; granddaughters Heather Allen and Katie Bozard, all of Virginia Beach, Va.; daughter Kathy Knabke of Danville; brother Robert Knabke of Acampo; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins of the Voss, Imwalle and Knabke families.
Funeral Mass was Wednesday, April 9, at St. Mary’s Church. Burial was at St. Mary’s Cemetery under the direction of Habing Family Funeral Home., Gilroy.
Leo appreciated the good works performed by St. Joseph’s Family Center for the community of Gilroy. The family asks that in lieu of flowers any donations be made to St. Joseph’s Family Center, 7950 Church St. Gilroy, CA 95020.
