John B. "Jack" Kneer (2013)

He was born February 19, 1921, in Peoria, Illinois, to Edwin and Gertrude Kneer. Jack married Mary Driver on April 11, 1942, in Peoria. She preceded him in death. Surviving him are two sons, John of Snowflake, AZ, and James of Piedmont, SC.

Jack served in WWII in the Army in the jungles of Burma as part of the CBI. He returned to Peoria after the war and worked for Caterpillar before he purchased the Flower Box flower shop in Peoria Heights. He retired to Estes Park, Colorado.

On May 4, 1989, he married Stella Nolan in Estes Park and they retired to Mesa. Jack became very involved with the Lapidary Shop in the Villa and he and Chuck Krasselt managed the shop for over ten years.

On his 89th birthday in 2010, they moved to the Buckingham community on the Shannondale Knoxville, TN campus to be near family.