Wallis "Wally" Nathan Knecht

Wallis 'Wally' Knecht, father, grandfather and loving husband passed peacefully at home on August 20, 2025, at the age of 85. He was proceeded in death by his parents, brother Douglas Knecht and beloved son, Michael James Knecht.

Born on August 13, 1940, in Bakerfield, California to Nathan and Celeste (Sieverson) Knecht. The family moved to Portland, Oregon during the war before moving to the Eugene/Springfield area.  His Dad then built the first Knecht Auto Parts in1947.

Wally attended Springfield High School. Wally’s favorite sport was always basketball.  He was a gifted athlete and played both Varsity football and Varsity basketball. His basketball team won the District Championship in 1958. Wally was then awarded Most Valuable Player. In 2013, he was inducted into Springfield’s High School Hall of Fame.

Wally received a 4 Year Athletic Scholarship to the University of Oregon for Basketball. In 1960 his team went to the NCAA playoffs, to the Elite 8 just 2 games shy of the NCAA Championship. Wally was inducted into the University Hall of Fame with the 1960 Basketball team.

In January 1960, Wally married his high school sweetheart Lynne Cushing. Wally and Lynne had three daughters, one son, and six grandchildren.

Fresh out of college Wally became the new manager of the Knecht Auto Store in Springfield. Gordon Harley, the manager, had taken a position as a competitor but still worked tirelessly with Wally to teach him the business, for which Wally was truly grateful. Wally worked 7 days a week to achieve the goal of manager. Wally then expanded the business in Springfield to open a store in the ‘Old Booth Kelly’ building. With a friend he then opened a store on Hwy 99 in Eugene. In 1972, Wally bought Knecht Auto Parts from his father and continued managing the business.  Wally had the vison and desire to further expand the business. Later he partnered with his Nephew Greg Knecht, who expanded locations to the northern part of the state. The business expanded to 25 stores and KAPCO a distribution warehouse. Knecht Auto Parts went on to serve communities across Oregon for 75 years.

A passionate traveler and explorer Wally always wanted to know what was around the next curve! In the early years, with the kids on Sunday afternoons, Lynne & Wally would grab a ‘bucket of chicken’ and take a variety of drives. These were known as ‘the cow and barn drives’ or the ‘Kentucky Chicken’ drives by the kids.

Knecht’s traveled extensively in Europe by car and train having some great adventures. They would make reservations for the first night and then the last night of their trip. They would travel in many directions to explore to their heart’s content with many unexpected happenings and discoveries along the way.  They also had the opportunity to take a number of cruises and explored many countries.

 Lynne & Wally spent years exploring Canada and 49 of the 50 states in their motorhome. The Knecht’s celebrated their 50th birthdays by traveling by their Harley Davidson motorcycle to Sturgis, South Dakota for the’ Harley Davidson 50th Anniversary Celebration’. They had many Harley trips with four other couples. Wally felt it was a thrill of a lifetime filled with laughter.

Wally is survived by his wife Lynne, daughters Karrie Knecht (Danny) Kristen Knecht, Kelly Sabbato (Kevin) and grandchildren Taylor Vallee (Mark), Justin Cutsforth (Shelby) Allison Blanchard (Scott) Chase Cutsforth (Piper) Sydney Sabbato and Blake Sabbato. His sisters, Carol Ueland (Fred), Susan Tirheimer (Ray) and many nieces and nephews

More than anything in life Wally loved being surrounded by his entire family. He had a passion for his home, yard and beloved “ barn”.  Wally loved people from all walks of life. He never met a person he did not like.

Lynne was Wally’s true love. If she was nearby, he was content. She feels truly blessed to have had Wally in her life since the age of 17.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations be made to:

OHSU Cancer Research Institute

P.O. BOX 29017

Portland, OR 97296

                OR

Kidsports Eugene On-line Donations

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.