Edwin R. Knopf, M.D., beloved husband, father, grandfather, accomplished physician and longtime resident of Doylestown, PA, passed away on Tuesday, February 13, 2024. He was 85 years old. Born in Trenton, NJ, he was raised by his mother, Ida, and many aunts, uncles and cousins. He graduated from Trenton High School, went to Franklin & Marshall College on a full scholarship and then graduated from Drexel University College of Medicine, formerly Hahnemann Medical School, in 1964. It was in his first year of medical school that Ed met Lynda Watov, a registered nurse, on a blind date and they were married for 53 years until her passing in 2017. Ed and Lynda were the loving parents of Kevin and Kimberlee and the devoted Pop Pop and Nanny of Chloe, Jacob and Leah.
Upon graduation from medical school, Ed was commissioned into the U.S. Air Force as a lieutenant, married Lynda and traveled to Northern California to begin his internship at Travis Air Force Base. There Ed and Lynda adopted Footsie, the first of many beloved pets. One year later, Ed and Lynda came back to the East Coast for Ed’s new post as General Medical Officer at Grenier Air Force Base near Manchester, New Hampshire where he honed his administrative skills as the only doctor for a 5,000 person practice that included military personnel, their families and, notably, for one day, President Lyndon B. Johnson.
After two years at Grenier he left the military to pursue a residency in Psychiatry at Norristown State Hospital. During and after his residency he worked at both Lenape Valley Foundation and Doylestown Hospital as a staff psychiatrist and, two years after completing his residency, he became the Medical Director of Lenape Valley Foundation where he and his team established a psychiatric crisis unit and day hospital for the Bucks County community.
In 1982, Ed was hired as the first medical director at Doylestown Hospital. For 22 years, until his retirement in 2004, he oversaw an astonishing growth in medical staff at the hospital and adapted to extensive changes in the practice of medicine including, the opening of the first acute care in-patient psychiatric unit at the hospital. In his retirement he was a member of both the Board of Directors of
Lenape Valley Foundation and the Bucks County Board of Health, and after moving to Pine Run in 2018, until 2023, he assumed the position of Commander of the Military Order of Pine Run on behalf of veterans living in the community. Ed especially enjoyed spending time in his retirement with his family and his dog friends and finding the best places to smoke cigars and indulge his sweet tooth.
Funeral services and burial are Thursday 12 PM at Ewing Cemetery, 78 Scotch Road, Ewing, NJ.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are respectfully requested to Doylestown Health Foundation, 595 W. State St., Doylestown, PA 18901, Attention: Lynda and Ed Knopf Nursing Scholarship Fund.
Arrangements are by Orland’s Ewing Memorial Chapel.
Ed was my classmate at Trenton High and a friend. Over the years our lives did not intersect very often but when it happened it was impactful. Ed was working at Helene Fuld Hospital when I was admitted for emergency surgery and needing blood. He gave his and I have always been grateful. His wife, Lynda , died and I reached out with a note and he did the same but we never saw one another again. Sixty-five years is a long time to remember but there was something so apparent about his goodness that made him unforgettable.