Guy Edmund Knolle

Guy Edmund Knolle, Jr., M.D., died peacefully August 30, 2016 at the age of 80. Known affectionately by his grandchildren as "Ace", an internationally recognized pioneer in the field of ophthalmic surgery and an accomplished pilot, Guy was a larger than life personality to those who knew him well. He will be remembered for his enormous capacity for friendship, professionalism and good humor. Above all, Guy loved his family and friends.

Guy was born April 8, 1936 to Guy Edmund Knolle, Sr., M.D., and Ruth Hilliard Knolle in Houston, Texas. He was predeceased by his parents and is survived by his wife Sue Ellen Knolle, M.D.; his brother Jon Knolle, M.D., wife Mary Anne Knolle, PhD; his three children and their families: his son, Edmund Knolle, wife Ellecia Anderson Knolle and their three daughters, Mary Margaret Knolle, Kathryn Knolle, Marie Ellecia Knolle, and expected son, Guy Edmund Knolle III; Guy's daughter, Katherine Thames, her husband Howard Davis Thames lll, and their three children Davis Thames, Caroline Thames and William Thames; and Guy's daughter Martha Knolle Melcher and her husband John Charles "JC" Melcher IV, PhD; and his former wife and the mother of his children, Marilyn Andrews, and her husband, Bolivar Andrews.

Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Guy attended River Oaks Elementary School, Lanier Middle School and M.B. Lamar High School where he graduated in 1954. It was on the Lamar track team where he developed his life-long passion for physical fitness, especially running, rope-climbing and lots of pull-ups. Guy attended the University of Texas at Austin where he pursued pre-med studies and was an active member of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. Guy received his BA degree from the Plan II Honors program in 1958 and followed in his father's and grandfather's footsteps obtaining his Medical Degree from Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Following his graduation from Tulane in 1962, Dr. Knolle completed a medicine internship and a glaucoma fellowship at Barnes Hospital Group in St. Louis, Missouri followed by an ophthalmology residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas where he completed his formal medical training in 1968. It was also during this busy time that Guy fulfilled his childhood dream of becoming a private pilot, a passion he would continue to pursue until the end of his life.

Following his medical training, Guy proudly served his country as a U.S. Army Captain and Ophthalmologist from 1966 to 1968 at Ireland Army Hospital at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Upon his honorable discharge in 1968, Dr. Knolle returned to Houston to begin private practice with his father.

Dr. Knolle loved the practice of medicine, bringing sight back to his patients, and especially the life-long relationships he developed with patients, colleagues and other medical professionals who shared his passion for innovation and excellence.

Always an innovator, Dr. Knolle studied under the early pioneers of phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implant surgery in the early 1970s, quickly becoming a leader and vigorous advocate for surgical techniques that soon revolutionized ophthalmic surgery and patient results world-wide. Forever learning and training others, Guy was a clinical instructor at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, developed his own intraocular lens, designed many surgical instruments, and published numerous articles and textbook chapters. In addition to his own surgical courses given in Houston, Guy chaired and taught many courses throughout the United States and abroad, frequently using flying analogies, his children's photography and his own unique sense of humor to illustrate his points.

Recognized for his leadership and professional accomplishments, Dr. Knolle served as the president of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery from 1989 to 1991 and was an Honor Award recipient of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. After nearly thirty years of practice in Houston, Guy joined his wife, Sue Ellen Young, M.D. in Austin, Texas where they practiced together for eleven years until their much deserved retirement in 2008.

Professional, optimistic, enthusiastic, cool-headed and always on the move, Guy strongly believed in training, proficiency and self-discipline. He considered constant training a necessity, and thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it, both in the surgical suite and in the cockpit. His skill and composure immediately put others at ease, whether in the examining chair or descending through dark stormy clouds for a perfect instrument approach. He often liked to remind people that despite almost 10,000 hours of flying experience, the next hour was the most important. He lived his entire life that way.

When not practicing or flying, Guy enjoyed being outside, hunting, fishing, scuba diving, water skiing, riding horses, and socializing with his many friends at the Houston Country Club and the River Oaks Country Club where he was an active member until he moved to Austin in 1997.

In retirement, Guy remained as active as ever: Flying, traveling, working outdoors, entertaining, mowing grass on his vintage Ford tractors and keeping in touch with his many friends and family. He loved experiencing new places, but mostly he loved traveling back to familiar places to see long-time friends. He especially loved spending time with his children and his grandchildren, frequently flying from Lakeway to Houston for a grandchild's birthday or just to have lunch.

A man of many talents and interests, always enthusiastic, quick with a smile and a joke, definite in his views, firm in his commitments, he was full of energy and vitality to the very end. Mostly, Guy Knolle loved people. He will be truly missed by all the many people he impacted during his lifetime.

A memorial service will be conducted in Houston, Texas at St. Luke's United Methodist Church, 3471 Westheimer Road, Houston, Texas on Thursday, September 8th, 2016 at 9:30 a.m., to be followed by a private burial. A second memorial service will be held in Lakeway, Texas on Saturday, September 17, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. at The Lakeway Church, 2203 Lakeway Blvd, Lakeway, Texas.

In lieu of customary remembrances, the family suggests memorials contributions to The Lakeway Church, Austin Disaster Relief Foundation or a charity of one's choice.