W.D. “Bill” Knox, former president and general manager of W.D. Hoard & Sons and the Daily Jefferson County Union in Fort Atkinson, died Aug. 5, 2005, at the age of 85.
He was born on June 9, 1920, on the family farm outside of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. He graduated at the age of 15 from Sault Ste. Marie High School, where he received his first experience in journalism, serving as editor of the high school paper. He graduated from Michigan State University at age 20.
In 1941, Knox joined the Hoard’s Dairyman staff as youth editor, moving to Fort Atkinson with his new wife, the former Jane Edith Shaw, whom he married on June 15, 1941. She preceded him in death in 1987. Knox enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1942, and was awarded a year of study at the Harvard Graduate School of Business. Following the war, he rejoined Hoard’s Dairyman as associate editor. In 1949, at age 29, he became the third editor of the magazine. He was an activist editor, traveling over 100,000 miles a year, giving speeches, going to industry meetings, testifying before Congress and generally campaigning for a better dairy industry. His expertise was recognized by several presidents. Upon the death of W.D. Hoard, Jr., in 1972, Knox took on the additional titles of president and general manager of W.D. Hoard & Sons Company and the Daily Jefferson County Union, as well as the operator of the Hoard’s Dairyman research farm. He filled his spare time with family, gardening, golf and woodworking.
Bill and Jane had four children, 12 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
