Penny Leka Knapp died January 25, 2022 at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx of heart disease. She was 86.
She wrote the international holiday favorite, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, with Phil Hageman when she was 27.
Born Feb. 9, 1935 to Lloyd and Ruth Stinston Leka in Springfield, Illinois, she became an accomplished performing violinist, pursuing her studies with the nationally acclaimed violin teacher, "Papa" Chadek, at the U of Alabama.
Performing classical violin she was a final runner up for Miss Alabama and unanimously won the title of "Miss Congenuality" in the 1958 pagent.
Mrs. Knapp attended, and later was on the staff of the National Music Camp at Interlochen, remaining a member of its board for many years.
In 1965 she married Frederick Joseph Knapp with whom she ran a public speaker/ management training company, Frederick Knapp Associates. They trained executives and managers of over 65,000 companies such as John Deere, Hewlett Packard and Nabisco.
Mr. Knapp was a fine tenor. Together the couple performed on cruise ships.
"We were so happy together, we didn't want to be apart" she was quoted as saying in 2014 after Mr. Knapp died.
The couple lived in East Hampton and on East 46th until shortly before Mr. Knapp died.
A vibrant and caring personality, Penny Leka Knapp is survived by a paternal cousin George Leka of Illinois and two nephews and a niece on her husband's side, Tom Hurd of London, England and Tom Knapp of Virginia.
A memorial is scheduled for Wed. Feb. 16 at 1 p.m. at St. Barts Cathedral on Park Ave.
Contributions are suggested to the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Interlochen, Michigan, and Pianoforte in East Hampton.
She wrote the international holiday favorite, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, with Phil Hageman when she was 27.
Born Feb. 9, 1935 to Lloyd and Ruth Stinston Leka in Springfield, Illinois, she became an accomplished performing violinist, pursuing her studies with the nationally acclaimed violin teacher, "Papa" Chadek, at the U of Alabama.
Performing classical violin she was a final runner up for Miss Alabama and unanimously won the title of "Miss Congenuality" in the 1958 pagent.
Mrs. Knapp attended, and later was on the staff of the National Music Camp at Interlochen, remaining a member of its board for many years.
In 1965 she married Frederick Joseph Knapp with whom she ran a public speaker/ management training company, Frederick Knapp Associates. They trained executives and managers of over 65,000 companies such as John Deere, Hewlett Packard and Nabisco.
Mr. Knapp was a fine tenor. Together the couple performed on cruise ships.
"We were so happy together, we didn't want to be apart" she was quoted as saying in 2014 after Mr. Knapp died.
The couple lived in East Hampton and on East 46th until shortly before Mr. Knapp died.
A vibrant and caring personality, Penny Leka Knapp is survived by a paternal cousin George Leka of Illinois and two nephews and a niece on her husband's side, Tom Hurd of London, England and Tom Knapp of Virginia.
A memorial is scheduled for Wed. Feb. 16 at 1 p.m. at St. Barts Cathedral on Park Ave.
Contributions are suggested to the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Interlochen, Michigan, and Pianoforte in East Hampton.
Penny Leka Knapp died January 25, 2022 at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx of heart disease. She was 86.
She wrote the international holiday favorite, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, with Phil Hageman when she was 27.
Born Feb. 9, 1935 to Lloyd and Ruth Stinston Leka in Springfield, Illinois, she became an accomplished performing violinist, pursuing her studies with the nationally acclaimed violin teacher, "Papa" Chadek, at the U of Alabama.
Performing classical violin she was a final runner up for Miss Alabama and unanimously won the title of "Miss Congenuality" in the 1958 pagent.
Mrs. Knapp attended, and later was on the staff of the National Music Camp at Interlochen, remaining a member of its board for many years.
In 1965 she married Frederick Joseph Knapp with whom she ran a public speaker/ management training company, Frederick Knapp Associates. They trained executives and managers of over 65,000 companies such as John Deere, Hewlett Packard and Nabisco.
Mr. Knapp was a fine tenor. Together the couple performed on cruise ships.
"We were so happy together, we didn't want to be apart" she was quoted as saying in 2014 after Mr. Knapp died.
The couple lived in East Hampton and on East 46th until shortly before Mr. Knapp died.
A vibrant and caring personality, Penny Leka Knapp is survived by a paternal cousin George Leka of Illinois and two nephews and a niece on her husband's side, Tom Hurd of London, England and Tom Knapp of Virginia.
A memorial is scheduled for Wed. Feb. 16 at 1 p.m. at St. Barts Cathedral on Park Ave.
Contributions are suggested to the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Interlochen, Michigan, and Pianoforte in East Hampton.
She wrote the international holiday favorite, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, with Phil Hageman when she was 27.
Born Feb. 9, 1935 to Lloyd and Ruth Stinston Leka in Springfield, Illinois, she became an accomplished performing violinist, pursuing her studies with the nationally acclaimed violin teacher, "Papa" Chadek, at the U of Alabama.
Performing classical violin she was a final runner up for Miss Alabama and unanimously won the title of "Miss Congenuality" in the 1958 pagent.
Mrs. Knapp attended, and later was on the staff of the National Music Camp at Interlochen, remaining a member of its board for many years.
In 1965 she married Frederick Joseph Knapp with whom she ran a public speaker/ management training company, Frederick Knapp Associates. They trained executives and managers of over 65,000 companies such as John Deere, Hewlett Packard and Nabisco.
Mr. Knapp was a fine tenor. Together the couple performed on cruise ships.
"We were so happy together, we didn't want to be apart" she was quoted as saying in 2014 after Mr. Knapp died.
The couple lived in East Hampton and on East 46th until shortly before Mr. Knapp died.
A vibrant and caring personality, Penny Leka Knapp is survived by a paternal cousin George Leka of Illinois and two nephews and a niece on her husband's side, Tom Hurd of London, England and Tom Knapp of Virginia.
A memorial is scheduled for Wed. Feb. 16 at 1 p.m. at St. Barts Cathedral on Park Ave.
Contributions are suggested to the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Interlochen, Michigan, and Pianoforte in East Hampton.
Gravesite Details
Her cremains, along with her husband Frederick, are being held P. MacDougall until a later date for burial. Headstone will be erected.
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