Knoop, William

William “Bill” Thomas

Knoop, age 55, of Phoenix,

Arizona, passed away on

October 27, 2020 after being hospitalized for a head injury. Bill was born in Toledo, Ohio on January 23, 1965. He was a 1983 graduate from Upper

Arlington High School (Ohio), and subsequently attended Miami University (Ohio) where he studied design and marketing and was a member of the SAE fraternity. Bill started his career working in promotions for WNCI radio station in Columbus, where he had a key role in the first 4th of July celebration.

He continued his career with a move to Cincinnati and a position with WKRC.

In the summer of 1990,

Bill took a job as Promotions Manager for KZZP in

Phoenix, Arizona and was welcomed to the state with a record high temperature of 122 degrees on his move day. He helped the station transition format and call letters to KVRY, being awarded AWRT Best

Promotion/creative Person

– Radio multiple years. In 1996 Bill made the move to

TV at KSAZ Fox 10 Phoenix as Sales Promotion

Manager and continued there for a number of years.

Afterward, he started and ran numerous aspects of a local newspaper, Heatstroke News. Around the same time, Bill volunteered at the Southwest Center, a health organization serving

Phoenix. He later took a position there as a Marketing / PR Specialist and continued to volunteer as well. In his spare time, Bill enjoyed cooking and home he took on the challenge to join in the annual Historic

District Christmas Home

Tour, winning many awards for the creativity and lengths to which he went in decorating his 1920s home to celebrate the season. Bill is survived by his long-term, dear friend, Freddy Saenz of Phoenix, AZ; father, Charlie of Upper Arlington, OH; brother, Peter of Northville,

MI; aunt, Phyllis Herzog of

Upper Arlington, OH; cousin, Barbara Herzog and son,

Jake (Elizabeth) Early of Upper Arlington and daughter,

Kaitlyn (Joseph) Colvin of

Lexington, KY; cousin, Judy (Dan) Wertz and sons, Trevor and Nathan of Centerville, OH. Bill is preceded in death by his mother Nancy, and grandparents Harley and Agnes Knoop and William and Betty White. The family asks that donations in memorial are made to the Southwest Center, 101 N Central Ave., #200,

Phoenix, AZ 85004. Condolences may be expressed at