William Harlough Knull, Jr. – Captain, United States Navy

William Harlough Knull Jr., 86, a retired Navy Captain who later opened an insurance agency in Arlington, Virginia, died of a pulmonary embolism May 28, 2008, at Rappahannock General Hospital in Kilmarnock, Virginia. He lived in Irvington, Virginia.

Captain Knull was a Tampa, Florida, native who graduated in 1943 from the U.S. Naval Academy with the class of 1944. During World War II, he served on the submarine Apogon in the North Pacific, and received a Silver Star.

He remained in the submarine service after the war aboard a number of ships and taught at the Submarine School. After attending the Armed Forces Staff College, he became commanding officer of the submarine Atule, then joined the Navy's special projects office in Washington. He was the commissioning executive officer of the Hunley, the first submarine built from the keel up to service Polaris missile submarines. He then became commander of Submarine Division 72 at Pearl Harbor, assistant chief of staff-logistics to the commander of submarines in the Pacific, commanding officer of the submarine Monrovia and commander of Submarine Squadron 2 in New London, Conn. He retired from the Pentagon in 1970.

Captain Knull started an insurance agency in Arlington, where he worked until moving to the Northern Neck of Virginia in 2003. He was a long-time member of the Rock Spring Congregational Church in Arlington and a founding director and long-time active member of the Arlington Food Assistance Center. He was past president of the Kiwanis Club of Arlington, where he was a member for more than 31 years.

More recently, he was founding president of the Boys and Girls Club of the Northern Neck. He also served on the board of the Kiwanis Club of the Northern Neck.

His wife of 59 years, Virginia Saegmuller Knull, died in 2007.

Survivors include three children, William H. Knull, III of Houston, Kenneth M. Knull of Lancaster, Virginia, and Barbara “Babette” Knull Cribbs of Roanoke; a sister; seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.


WILLIAM HARLOUGH KNULL, JR. Capt. USN (Ret.) On May 28, 2008 of Irvington, Virginia, formerly of Arlington. Beloved husband of 60 years of the late Virginia Saegmuller Knull; loving father of William H. Knull, III and wife Yolanda C. of Houston, Texas, Kenneth M. Knull and wife Karen B. of Lancaster, Virginia, Barbara “Babette” Knull Cribbs and husband Timothy B. of Roanoke, Virginia; seven grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, sister Gloria K. Wills of Gainesville, Florida; nieces, Allene and Carroll-Jeanne Wills.

Memorial services will be Sunday, June 1 at 1 p.m. at Rappahannock-Westminster Canterbury, Irvington, Virginia. Graveside services with Full Military Honors will be 9 a.m., August 6, 2008, at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia. Memorials may be made to Boys & Girls Club of the Northern Neck, P.O. Box 564, Kilmarnock, Virginia 22482.

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