Sonny and Barbara Knobloch

Barbara Boudreaux Knobloch passed away on April 24, 2025 at her residence in Metairie, LA. She was born on September 5, 1940 in New Orleans, LA to Wallace Boudreaux and Earline Bourgeois Boudreaux.

She worked as a secretary for Help A/C and Heating, a family owned business that she helped run with her husband for 50+ years. She was a member of Farland Grotto Lady Bugs.

She is preceded in death by her husband of 67 years, Nims “Sonny” Philip Knobloch; parents; and siblings, Larry, Buddy, Donald, and Brenda Boudreaux.

She is survived by her sons, Kenny, Keith, and Korey Knobloch; seven grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and siblings, Geri Achor, Eugene Boudreaux, Sharon Boudreaux.

A joint service for Barbara and Sonny will be held on Friday, May 2, 2025 at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. New Orleans, LA 70124. The visitation will begin at 9:00 a.m. until the funeral mass at 1:00 p.m. The interment will follow at Lake Lawn Park Mausoleum.

Nims “Sonny” Philip Knobloch passed away at his home in Metairie, LA on April 22, 2025 at 86 years of age. He was born on December 30,1938 in New Orleans, LA to Nims Philip Knobloch, Sr. and Edna Pearl Landrum Knobloch.

He was the husband of Barbara Boudreaux Knobloch, who passed away just a couple of days after him, and Sonny wanted all to know that Barbara was his true soulmate and the love of his life. They both pledged their lives to loving each other, working hard and creating a home of love and happiness for their children. Did Barbara spoil Sonny? Yes, she did, and in return, it made Sonny work harder and smarter to give her anything she wanted. Sonny himself could only hope and pray that more people could really know and share as much love as he and Barbara had for each other.

Sonny was the founder and CEO of Help Service Co, Inc. and Smartway Solutions Inc. Sonny was very inventive and creative in bringing change to the air conditioning and heating industry. He enjoyed sharing and helping other contractors understand the business side as well as the technical side of their company. He was a very active member in both the local and national Air Conditioning and Heating Contractors Association. His passion was to keep people comfortable and save them money, which was reflective in his own two inventions. Sonny invented and patented an Air Conditioning and Heating Remote Monitor System that would report a problem usually before a homeowner knew about it. His second patented invention was the world’s first Talking Thermostat for central air conditioning and heating systems. To his surprise, with additional voice features, this allowed the visually impaired to be able to program and control their comfort in their home.

He was affiliated with numerous organizations and took part in multiple roles within some organizations: member of Free and Accepted Mason (Square and Compass Lodge #417), 32 Degree member of Scottish Rite Freemasonry, member of Farhad Grotto M.O.V.P.E.R., past President of Farhad Grotto Dune-buggy Patrol, treasurer of Farhad Grotto Board of Trustees, past President of the Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Dealers Association, advisor on the board of the Air Conditioning/Heating/Refrigeration News, active on the education committee for Air Conditioning Contractors of America, active member of the New Orleans Energy Advisory Committee, and he received a National Award for his work in energy innovation from the DOE.

He is survived by his three sons, Kenneth, Keith, and Korey Knobloch.

He is preceded in death by his parents and sister, Joyce O’Brien.

A joint service for Sonny and Barbara will be held on Friday, May 2, 2025 at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. New Orleans, LA 70124. The visitation will begin at 9:00 a.m. until the funeral mass at 1:00 p.m. The interment will follow at Lake Lawn Park Mausoleum.