William was born March 5, 1934, to Alvin and Lottie (Eshleman) Knips. He graduated from Adrian High School in 1951 and from the University of Minnesota, School of Agriculture, in March 1953 with a two-year degree in agriculture. In February 1953, he volunteered for the draft and signed on with the army. Upon completion of his two years with the military, he returned to the family farm in Lismore and began two decades of farming. He married Janet Knudson on September 13, 1953. In 1973, they left farming and started Worthington Commodities in Worthington, MN. The couple later divorced. On May 25, 1990, he married Myrna Dietz, with his 90-year-old father serving as his Best Man. The couple resided in Tucson, AZ.

He is father and father-in-law to Cyan and Tom Loonan, Littleton, MA; Cindy Voss, Clanton, AL; Monte and Peggy Knips, Houston, TX; Apryl and Ken Scrivner, Beaverton, OR. Also surviving are nine grandchildren; four great grandchildren, with the fifth one due in December; three step-daughters; one brother, Donald (Janice) Knips, Worthington; and two sisters, Dorothy (Bob) Munns, Winnebago, MN; and Darleen Lutmer, Adrian, MN; many, many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Alvin and Lottie Knips, and one brother-in-law, Melvin Lutmer.“Grandpa Bill” passed away Monday, October 22, 2012, at the Southern Arizona VA Health Care Center in Tucson, AZ.