David J. Knapp

David J. Knapp, 88, passed away on October 28, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio with his loving family at his side. A resident of New Albany for nearly 30 years, Mr. Knapp was born in New York City on February 2, 1937, to Margaret and William C. Knapp. The family moved to Baltimore, Maryland shortly after.

In 1951, at the tender age of 14, David met Estelle Stephens at the Baltimore Country Club, and the rest was history. David graduated from McDonogh School (Owings, MD) in 1955. The two married in August of 1958 at the Church of Redeemer (Baltimore, MD). David earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Lehigh University (Bethlehem, PA) in 1959. He worked for the B&O Railroad before serving as a US Army Ordnance Officer supplying nuclear weapons to the field artillery during the escalation of the Cold War, 1960-1962. David began his foundry career in Pittsburgh, PA mastering the mechanics of manufacturing some of the largest steel castings in the world. David’s career took the couple all over the country, primarily in the Midwest and Northeast. After decades in the foundry industry as an executive, David retired from Glidewell Specialty Foundry in 2019 at the age of 82.

David was passionate about family history and became particularly interested in Andrew McCalla Eastwick, a Philadelphia mechanical engineer and Estelle’s great-great-grandfather. In the 1840’s Eastwick was commissioned by Czar Nicholas I to build the first steam engine that would travel between Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia. In 2024, David published Eastwick Letters recounting Eastwick’s life and years spent in Russia raising his family and working alongside Major George Washington Whistler, father of the famous painter. The original correspondence is held in the permanent collection at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. David has two forthcoming books: Beneath the Smoke Stacks, which is a collection of his personal paintings, and Rails to Russia, a biography of family ancestor Andrew Eastwick.

Always in pursuit of a creative project, David founded Cast Iron Waterfowl with his wife Estelle in the late 1980s. The hand painted decorative waterfowl boot scrapers and doorstops were sold in gift shops and craft shows throughout Ohio and the east coast.

In 1971, David painted a foundry scene that hung in their home for many years. In 2014, he picked up the paint brush again, completing 64 more large scale foundry scene paintings over the next ten years. These paintings are held in the permanent collections at American Foundry Society (Schaumburg, IL), Grohmann Museum (Milwaukee, WI), and the National Museum of Industrial History (Bethlehem, PA), and in numerous private collections.

David was a lifelong member of the Episcopal Church, most recently All Saints (New Albany, OH). Over the years, he served on the vestry and as a Eucharistic minister.

He is preceded in death by parents Margaret and William C. Knapp, and survived by his wife Estelle Knapp, brother Anthony (Susan) Knapp PhD, Estelle (Gregory) Spear, Jeffrey (Annette) Knapp, grandchildren Andrew (Margaret) Spear, Estelle (James) Bishop PhD, Caroline Knapp, Mason Knapp, and great-grandchildren Estelle Bishop and Sophie Spear.

Donations can be made in memory of David J. Knapp to: Bartram's Garden at 5400 Lindbergh Blvd, Philadelphia, PA 19143

https://www.bartramsgarden.org/give/

A memorial service will be held at a future date.