Obituary
Des Moines Register
Leukemia claims life of young, blind musician
Brian Knapp wanted to be a musician-star- when he grew up, and he never let blindness hold him back.
Cancer took his eyesight when he was a baby. But at 14, he was a straight-A student at Johnston High School and a member of the school wrestling team and jazz band. He wrote songs and novels on his Braille typewriter that told of heroic characters and the challenges of growing up.
He played guitar and appeared on stage with Johnny Cash eight times. He wore a belt buckle Cash gave him. He met Ray Charles, Kenny Rogers, the Oak Ridge Boys, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Ronnie Milsap and he collected autographs. He sat in on recording sessions in Nashville. Decorating his room were a harmonica and a hat and scarf he got from Willie Nelson.
A few weeks ago, he got sick. He thought it was a throat infection. Then a doctor diagnosed leukemia. Brian Knapp was left with less than a month to chase his dream. He died Saturday at Iowa Methodist Medical Center.
"He was really a super kid. He enriched our lives," said Gene Rosenberg, a Braille aide at Johnston High who worked with Knapp for the past four years.
Knapp had composed a song called "Rules of Life." Rosenberg said the message of the song "was his whole philosophy- that you have to do what you do and you have to take what you get. It was beautiful."
He was a star attraction aboard the Farm Aid train that traveled from Iowa in 1985 for the concert in Illinois. As he moved through the train playing his guitar and singing, groups gathered around him to listen.
A recent class essay asked students to answer the question, "What do you think you missed out on in life?" Knapp had a short and direct answer.
"Nothing," Knapp replied. "It has been a wonderful life."
Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the First Federated Church, 48th Street and Franklin Ave. in Des Moines. Friends may call at the Westover Funeral Home after 1 p.m. Tuesday. Memorial contributions may be made to the Brian Knapp Memorial Cancer Fund at the Johnston High School. Burial will be in Glendale Cemetery.
Survivors include his parents, Bob and Barbara Knapp of Granger, a sister, and brother, grandparents Harold and Joan Knapp of Granger and Art and Jean Bennett, of Hot Springs, Ark., and great-grandparents Sandy and Woody Milner of Des Moines.
Brian was a gifted singer, song writer and musician and played with Johnny Cash, among others. He was a cancer survivor who lost his sight as a baby and went on to achieve great things in his, all to short, life.
The music played at his funeral were his own songs, in his own voice and him playing his guitar. It was a wonderful tribute to his gift.
***
A film about Brian's life called “Life Briefly,” was made with Bill Paxton, Ashley Judd, and Ty Simpkins among the lead actors.
The plot is based on Brian, blinded when he was a baby, who was a musical prodigy. Brian Knapp of Des Moines in his short life wielded a guitar to share the stage with such legends as Johnny Cash. He died at age 14 in 1987 from leukemia.
Grandson of Harold Knapp and Joan O'Day Knapp
Des Moines Register
Leukemia claims life of young, blind musician
Brian Knapp wanted to be a musician-star- when he grew up, and he never let blindness hold him back.
Cancer took his eyesight when he was a baby. But at 14, he was a straight-A student at Johnston High School and a member of the school wrestling team and jazz band. He wrote songs and novels on his Braille typewriter that told of heroic characters and the challenges of growing up.
He played guitar and appeared on stage with Johnny Cash eight times. He wore a belt buckle Cash gave him. He met Ray Charles, Kenny Rogers, the Oak Ridge Boys, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Ronnie Milsap and he collected autographs. He sat in on recording sessions in Nashville. Decorating his room were a harmonica and a hat and scarf he got from Willie Nelson.
A few weeks ago, he got sick. He thought it was a throat infection. Then a doctor diagnosed leukemia. Brian Knapp was left with less than a month to chase his dream. He died Saturday at Iowa Methodist Medical Center.
"He was really a super kid. He enriched our lives," said Gene Rosenberg, a Braille aide at Johnston High who worked with Knapp for the past four years.
Knapp had composed a song called "Rules of Life." Rosenberg said the message of the song "was his whole philosophy- that you have to do what you do and you have to take what you get. It was beautiful."
He was a star attraction aboard the Farm Aid train that traveled from Iowa in 1985 for the concert in Illinois. As he moved through the train playing his guitar and singing, groups gathered around him to listen.
A recent class essay asked students to answer the question, "What do you think you missed out on in life?" Knapp had a short and direct answer.
"Nothing," Knapp replied. "It has been a wonderful life."
Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the First Federated Church, 48th Street and Franklin Ave. in Des Moines. Friends may call at the Westover Funeral Home after 1 p.m. Tuesday. Memorial contributions may be made to the Brian Knapp Memorial Cancer Fund at the Johnston High School. Burial will be in Glendale Cemetery.
Survivors include his parents, Bob and Barbara Knapp of Granger, a sister, and brother, grandparents Harold and Joan Knapp of Granger and Art and Jean Bennett, of Hot Springs, Ark., and great-grandparents Sandy and Woody Milner of Des Moines.
Brian was a gifted singer, song writer and musician and played with Johnny Cash, among others. He was a cancer survivor who lost his sight as a baby and went on to achieve great things in his, all to short, life.
The music played at his funeral were his own songs, in his own voice and him playing his guitar. It was a wonderful tribute to his gift.
***
A film about Brian's life called “Life Briefly,” was made with Bill Paxton, Ashley Judd, and Ty Simpkins among the lead actors.
The plot is based on Brian, blinded when he was a baby, who was a musical prodigy. Brian Knapp of Des Moines in his short life wielded a guitar to share the stage with such legends as Johnny Cash. He died at age 14 in 1987 from leukemia.
Grandson of Harold Knapp and Joan O'Day Knapp
Obituary
Des Moines Register
Leukemia claims life of young, blind musician
Brian Knapp wanted to be a musician-star- when he grew up, and he never let blindness hold him back.
Cancer took his eyesight when he was a baby. But at 14, he was a straight-A student at Johnston High School and a member of the school wrestling team and jazz band. He wrote songs and novels on his Braille typewriter that told of heroic characters and the challenges of growing up.
He played guitar and appeared on stage with Johnny Cash eight times. He wore a belt buckle Cash gave him. He met Ray Charles, Kenny Rogers, the Oak Ridge Boys, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Ronnie Milsap and he collected autographs. He sat in on recording sessions in Nashville. Decorating his room were a harmonica and a hat and scarf he got from Willie Nelson.
A few weeks ago, he got sick. He thought it was a throat infection. Then a doctor diagnosed leukemia. Brian Knapp was left with less than a month to chase his dream. He died Saturday at Iowa Methodist Medical Center.
"He was really a super kid. He enriched our lives," said Gene Rosenberg, a Braille aide at Johnston High who worked with Knapp for the past four years.
Knapp had composed a song called "Rules of Life." Rosenberg said the message of the song "was his whole philosophy- that you have to do what you do and you have to take what you get. It was beautiful."
He was a star attraction aboard the Farm Aid train that traveled from Iowa in 1985 for the concert in Illinois. As he moved through the train playing his guitar and singing, groups gathered around him to listen.
A recent class essay asked students to answer the question, "What do you think you missed out on in life?" Knapp had a short and direct answer.
"Nothing," Knapp replied. "It has been a wonderful life."
Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the First Federated Church, 48th Street and Franklin Ave. in Des Moines. Friends may call at the Westover Funeral Home after 1 p.m. Tuesday. Memorial contributions may be made to the Brian Knapp Memorial Cancer Fund at the Johnston High School. Burial will be in Glendale Cemetery.
Survivors include his parents, Bob and Barbara Knapp of Granger, a sister, and brother, grandparents Harold and Joan Knapp of Granger and Art and Jean Bennett, of Hot Springs, Ark., and great-grandparents Sandy and Woody Milner of Des Moines.
Brian was a gifted singer, song writer and musician and played with Johnny Cash, among others. He was a cancer survivor who lost his sight as a baby and went on to achieve great things in his, all to short, life.
The music played at his funeral were his own songs, in his own voice and him playing his guitar. It was a wonderful tribute to his gift.
***
A film about Brian's life called “Life Briefly,” was made with Bill Paxton, Ashley Judd, and Ty Simpkins among the lead actors.
The plot is based on Brian, blinded when he was a baby, who was a musical prodigy. Brian Knapp of Des Moines in his short life wielded a guitar to share the stage with such legends as Johnny Cash. He died at age 14 in 1987 from leukemia.
Grandson of Harold Knapp and Joan O'Day Knapp
Des Moines Register
Leukemia claims life of young, blind musician
Brian Knapp wanted to be a musician-star- when he grew up, and he never let blindness hold him back.
Cancer took his eyesight when he was a baby. But at 14, he was a straight-A student at Johnston High School and a member of the school wrestling team and jazz band. He wrote songs and novels on his Braille typewriter that told of heroic characters and the challenges of growing up.
He played guitar and appeared on stage with Johnny Cash eight times. He wore a belt buckle Cash gave him. He met Ray Charles, Kenny Rogers, the Oak Ridge Boys, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Ronnie Milsap and he collected autographs. He sat in on recording sessions in Nashville. Decorating his room were a harmonica and a hat and scarf he got from Willie Nelson.
A few weeks ago, he got sick. He thought it was a throat infection. Then a doctor diagnosed leukemia. Brian Knapp was left with less than a month to chase his dream. He died Saturday at Iowa Methodist Medical Center.
"He was really a super kid. He enriched our lives," said Gene Rosenberg, a Braille aide at Johnston High who worked with Knapp for the past four years.
Knapp had composed a song called "Rules of Life." Rosenberg said the message of the song "was his whole philosophy- that you have to do what you do and you have to take what you get. It was beautiful."
He was a star attraction aboard the Farm Aid train that traveled from Iowa in 1985 for the concert in Illinois. As he moved through the train playing his guitar and singing, groups gathered around him to listen.
A recent class essay asked students to answer the question, "What do you think you missed out on in life?" Knapp had a short and direct answer.
"Nothing," Knapp replied. "It has been a wonderful life."
Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the First Federated Church, 48th Street and Franklin Ave. in Des Moines. Friends may call at the Westover Funeral Home after 1 p.m. Tuesday. Memorial contributions may be made to the Brian Knapp Memorial Cancer Fund at the Johnston High School. Burial will be in Glendale Cemetery.
Survivors include his parents, Bob and Barbara Knapp of Granger, a sister, and brother, grandparents Harold and Joan Knapp of Granger and Art and Jean Bennett, of Hot Springs, Ark., and great-grandparents Sandy and Woody Milner of Des Moines.
Brian was a gifted singer, song writer and musician and played with Johnny Cash, among others. He was a cancer survivor who lost his sight as a baby and went on to achieve great things in his, all to short, life.
The music played at his funeral were his own songs, in his own voice and him playing his guitar. It was a wonderful tribute to his gift.
***
A film about Brian's life called “Life Briefly,” was made with Bill Paxton, Ashley Judd, and Ty Simpkins among the lead actors.
The plot is based on Brian, blinded when he was a baby, who was a musical prodigy. Brian Knapp of Des Moines in his short life wielded a guitar to share the stage with such legends as Johnny Cash. He died at age 14 in 1987 from leukemia.
Grandson of Harold Knapp and Joan O'Day Knapp
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