John Knaizuk, Jr., 85, of Council Bluffs, IA, died Wednesday, April 3, 2024, in Rexburg, ID. As a child, young man, and to his direct and extended family, he was called Junior to differentiate from his father who he was named after.

John was born in New York, New York, in 1938 to John (Sr.) and Nadia Knaizuk, their first child and only son. John was preceded in death by his dear wife Claudia, just 101 days prior, and also his parents, cousin Alan Adamec, and son-in-law Paul George. He is survived by his children Leslie George, Dereck Knaizuk, and Tania (Joe) Marino; his sister Hope (Ian) Goskirk; niece Nadia Goskirk; and his beloved dog Sadie (a hypoallergenic YorkiePoo). John had 10 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren.

John will always be remembered for his eccentric New Yorker gruffness, and the wild eyebrows (and goatee) of his full Russian heritage. Underneath that tough exterior was someone with a caring heart, and he supported his family and extended family however he could. Though he was highly allergic to standard fur-bearing animals, he kept cockatiels for many years after his sister first gifted him a pair.

John grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and in his younger years was involved with scouting, hiking, and camping, and was a dedicated swimmer in HS/college. He went to City College of New York (CCNY; now CUNY) and received a Baccalaureate of Electrical Engineering (143 credits), (which he noted was different than the "B.S., Major in Electrical Engineering," requiring only 124 credits).

Later, he was an Assistant Professor at SUNY Oswego, teaching undergraduate Computer Science while first earning his M.S., and then pursuing his PhD, in Computer and Information Science at Syracuse University. Though he completed all course work, passed his comprehensive, and wrote a first draft on his dissertation, he was never able to revise and complete it to fulfill his PhD. But, in 1977 he did publish in the IEEE Transactions in Computers: John Knaizuk Jr., Carlos R. P. Hartmann: An Optimal Algorithm for Testing Stuck-at Faults in Random Access Memories (though the Internet has disappointingly misspelled his last name in many references to this paper, missing the K on the end).

While living in the Oswego area, John became a founding member of the volunteer Oswego County Pioneer Land Search and Rescue Team. OCPSAR was citizen-created in 1971 after a young boy was lost—and never found—in the Adirondack Mountains where there were limited emergency services for any such situation at that time. In 1976, John was awarded "Pioneer of the Year." John and Claudia proudly worked and served with this group until moving away in 1979, and often recounted fond memories of their time and friends there. Many lasting memories were created for their family including attending kayak and canoe races down the Oswego River as OCPSAR members held long poles off the rocky edge to both right overturned kayakers and rescue capsized canoers, while also dispatching life preservers to those separated from their watercraft in the rushing water, among other first aid services.

John held education in high esteem and was always studying something about math and science, and loved the challenge of competitive family game nights. He passed on his love of nature to his family, and enjoyed a wide variety of sci-fi. Up to his very last days, he was a dedicated student, with many, many books about first aid, wilderness survival, field guide books for plants and bird identification, math (beginning, middle, and advanced of all branches—algebra, calculus, geometry, trig, physics, etc.) including TWO graphing calculators, technology (WindowsOS/software books), huge old dictionary, similar thesaurus, several word etymology books, and (seriously) too many of The Great Courses lecture sets than he could ever watch, all in his small personal library just at the assisted living home. He loved supporting both direct and extended family in their educational pursuits and was always eager to emphasize its importance.

John was a pretty great cook, especially well-known for his epic steaks, and Sunday roasts, and was always happy to grill out on picnics and pool days. He probably kept the dairy industry going with his overuse of (only real!) butter whenever it was used, milk as his beverage of choice, and an ice cream habit that was a true extravaganza of family tradition. He was never without a pocketknife and was practical in his gifts. A frequent college send-off for generations of kids in the family (especially the girls!) was a large toolbox with a complete tool set, each and every piece carefully and permanently labeled with the recipient's name with his handheld engraver.

John often hung in the background with a quiet strength, observing the goings-on of a gathering, but no one could miss his explosive sneezes and booming voice, and he will be dearly missed. John and Claudia will be laid to rest together near her parents and grandparents in the Washington Heights Memorial Park cemetery in South Ogden, UT.