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Tom Kneitel, W4XAA (ex-K2AES), SK |
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If you would like to express your sympathies, share stories and thoughts about him please send us your e-mail. e-mail address: tommykneitelsk@gmail.com
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It is with a sense of profound loss that we inform our readers that Tom Kneitel, W4XAA, founding editor of Popular Communications, passed away on August 22, 2008. He had been gravely ill for over a year, and as we extend our sympathies to his family, friends, and all who knew him, we are also thankful that he is now at peace. A man of seemingly boundless energy and an unfathomable depth of radio knowledge, within the hobby he was a powerful driving force, a prolific writer, editor, and publisher. Most hobbyists knew him by his previous callsign, K2AES, under which he launched Pop’Comm along with CQ publisher Dick Ross in September, 1982. We knew him as Tommy. He was a friend. Little-known to most radio enthusiasts, Tommy was the grandson of animation pioneer Max Fleischer, who developed the character of Betty Boop and brought Popeye to the silver screen. Tommy's father, Seymour Kneitel, was also a prolific animator, but Tommy preferred the print media, writing for Popular Electronics and Electronics Illustrated in the 1950s and '60s. He started the Popular Electronics registered shortwave monitor program, which issued unofficial "WPE" callsigns to active SWLs. His association with CQ began when he became the founding editor of S9, a CB magazine started by then-CQ publisher Cowan Publishing, Inc. When S9 ceased publication, Kneitel and current CQ Publisher Dick Ross, K2MGA, launched Popular Communications in 1982. Tommy was Editor of Pop'Comm until 1995, when he gave up day-to-day responsibilities for the magazine and became Senior Editor. He served as an advisor and resource to his successors until recently before his passing. Tommy was also the author of a multitude of books on CB, scanning and other radio-related topics. Among the best known were Tomcat's Big CB Handbook: Everything They Never Told You ("Tomcat" was Tommy's CB "handle"); Tune in on Telephone Calls and The "Top Secret" Registry of U.S. Government Radio Frequencies: 25 to 470 MHz. In the early 1960s, Tommy also wrote training films for the U.S. Army. "Tomcat's" fascination with radio began as a teenager, after he contracted polio at age 14. The disease left him with a permanent limp … and an addiction to radio. A flareup of post-polio syndrome about 15 years ago resulted in his needing to use a wheelchair. In recent years, his health had been declining and he was under hospice care at the time of his death. Tommy is survived by his wife of 54 years, Judy, two sons, five daughters and ten grandchildren. Memorial services will be private. It goes without saying that Pop’Comm wouldn’t exist had it not been for the vision and hard work of Tommy Kneitel. In the 13 years he headed this magazine, with great zeal, foresight, and his inimitable humor, he helped shape this hobby of ours and quite possibly an entire industry. Even after passing the helm, he continued to provide guidance and wisdom to those of us who attempted to follow in his footsteps. Personally, I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with him over the years, to have experienced the pure delight of his story-telling abilities, and to have picked up even just a little bit of his vast wealth of knowledge. It is also with a sense of profound humility—and gratitude—that I sign this now.
—Edith Lennon, Editor, Popular Communications
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Additional information is available in the following online newspaper obituaries: Orlando Sentinel: <http://www.orlandosentinel.com/community/news/deland/orl-sundead2408aug24,0,813189.story> New York Newsday: <http://www.legacy.com/Newsday/DeathNotices.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=116375025>
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