Dale H. Knapschaefer

Born in Grand Rapids, Mich. in 1927—the son of Henry Knapschafer, a mechanic who owned a garage in Coldwater, Ohio, and Margaret Fetzer Knapschafer, who managed the household and its small farm—Dale joined the U.S. Navy in 1945, training at the Great Lakes Training Center in Great Lakes, Ill.  He also studied electrical engineering at the University of Missouri and University of Michigan while serving two years, attaining the rank of electronic technician's mate third class. Using G.I. Bill benefits, Dale earned a B.S. degree in electrical engineering at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Mich. in 1949 and an M.S. in mathematics at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pa. in 1952. 
 
In Pittsburgh, he met Kathryn "Kay" Walczak, then a medical secretary, at an American Youth Hostels square dance in 1952. She would not let him "waste" 25 cents for her streetcar ride home, so he walked her three miles to her apartment. They married later that year and moved to Merchantville, N.J. before buying a house in Pennsauken, N.J, where they raised two daughters. 
 
After joining the Batona, short for Back To Nature, Hiking Club of Philadelphia in 1960, Dale suggested building a trail linking Wharton and Lebanon State Forests in New Jersey's Pine Barrens. Once the club received state approval for the Batona Trail, he and other members scoped out its route and completed its first 30 miles in 1961. The now 52.5-mile trail is maintained by the American Outdoor Club of South Jersey, which Dale and Kay founded in 1966.
 
Dale worked as an RCA Corp. electrical engineer for 17 years on complex U.S. military communications systems contracts in its Camden, N.J. communications systems division and later worked in other company units in Moorestown, N.J. and Burlington, Mass. When defense spending diminished at the end of the Vietnam War, he retooled as a computer programmer and worked at American Mutual Insurance in Wakefield, Mass. and General Electric Corp.in Lynn, Mass., among other firms. 
 
In 1961, Dale and Kay took daughters Johanna, 5, and Greta, 2, on their first European bicycle touring trip to Europe—with the girls riding behind them in bicycle seats. They visited Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany on a 50-day trip that covered more than 700 miles—the first of many family cycling adventures.
 
After moving to New England in 1969, Dale and Kay spent the next decade climbing  New Hampshire's then AMC-approved 46  4,000-foot White Mountains and New England's hundred highest peaks, often with their daughters in tow.
 
Dale's longest single day bike ride was in 1979, when he covered 255 miles through seven states. Starting at midnight in North Petersburg, N.Y. and ending in Kittery, Maine at 11 p.m., the then 52-year-old's ride followed one continuous route that included six New England states. He continued international bicycle touring with Kay into his seventies, visiting countries including Panama, Greece, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Croatia and Turkey.
 
Volunteering gave meaning to Dale. While serving as the Appalachian Mountain Club Conservation Committee co-chairman, he said, "Everybody thinks about the mountains in New Hampshire, but we have natural beauty close at hand." In 1989, he led a massive effort with public, private and non-profit organizations to clean up two Manchester, N.H., city parks. That year, he received an award from city Mayor Emile Beaulieu for his years of service. 
 
Over more than five decades, Dale led some 1,000 hiking and cycling trips with the American Youth Hostels, Batona Hiking Club, the Cycling Enthusiasts of Philadelphia and the Boston Chapter AMC. He also tutored at the Hillsborough County Dept. of Corrections and the Hillside Middle School; and volunteered at the Manchester VA Medical Center, all in Manchester N.H.
 
Dale is survived by his daughter, Johanna Knapschaefer, of Manchester, N.H.; daughter, Greta Knapschaefer, and her husband, H. Douglas Redfern, of Ipswich, Mass.; as well as grandchildren, Ian Redfern, Alicia, Monica, and Philip Greene.
 
A memorial to celebrate Dale's life will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Manchester, 669 Union St., Manchester, N.H. on May 1, 11a.m. followed by an interment of ashes at 3 p.m. at the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery, 110 Webster Highway, Boscawen, N.H. 
 
Donations can be made to the Appalachian Mountain Club https://www.outdoors.org/donate/tribute-gifts/ and/or Easter Seals secure.easterseals.com/site/Donation. Please note "In memory of Dale Knapschaefer" with your donation.
 
The Cremation Society of New Hampshire has been entrusted with arrangements. To view an online tribute, leave a message of condolence or for more information please visit www.csnh.com.