Harold Knobel

Harold Knobel, 89, of Valdosta, GA passed away on September 10, 2023, after a long life and a short illness. Harold was born on October 19, 1933 to the late Esther and Arthur Knobel, in Powell, Nebraska. He graduated from the University of Nebraska with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Agriculture. Thereafter, he worked for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a drug and chemical inspector, and for Chipman Chemical Company designing test equipment for agricultural research. He retired from Federal Crop Insurance Corporation in 1994.Harold married his wife Nancy in 1956, and they recently celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary. Harold and Nancy were members of the Belles and Beaux Square Dancing Club, often sporting matching outfits made by Nancy. They were avid card players at the Valdosta Senior Center.Harold loved to read, especially science fiction, and could converse on many topics. Above all else, he was a mechanical genius. There was nothing in the world of machinery that he could not figure out, design, build, fix, reverse engineer, or jerry-rig. His lifelong passion was auto racing. Harold designed and built racecars at his workshop in rural Georgia, dubbed “The Funny Farm” by his family. Harold was a long-time member of the Sports Car Club of America and won many autocross and hill climb titles in his decades of racing, including the Perelli Solo II National Championship (D Modified Class) in 1983. He was inducted into the Sports Car Club of America’s Time Trial Hall of Fame. His “Blue Max” Austin Mini Cooper was legendary in racing circles. According to Sportscar magazine: “The Blue Max Mini was incredible, invincible.” Harold continued to autocross and compete in hill climb races until he was 84.In his later years, Harold struggled with vision loss due to macular degeneration, which prevented him from doing many of the things he loved. He could no longer work on cars and was forced to hire other people to fix things, to his great frustration. Harold retained his wit and his outspoken nature until the end.Harold was preceded in death by his sisters, Marlene (Knobel) Roesler and Karen (Knobel) Busboom, and his brother, Val Jean Knobel. He was loved and will be missed by his wife, Nancy Knobel of Valdosta, GA; daughter, Jodi Knobel Feuerhelm of Bisbee, AZ; son, Greg Knobel of Tallahassee, FL; and grandchildren, Natalie Knobel, Carter Feuerhelm, and Daniel Feuerhelm.Mr. Knobel’s wishes were to be cremated with no formal services. Friends and family are invited to share memories and messages of sympathy at www.musicfuneralservices.com. p

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