KNUHTSEN, Hjalmar Frederick Krum

The Verde Independent, Cottonwood, Arizona, Wednesday, February 27, 2013 Hjalmar Frederick Krum Knuhtsen, 77, died peacefully on January, 16, 2013, in Plano, Texas. He was best friend and devoted husband of 49 years to Diana, father to Kevin and Kirstin, brother to Nicki, and grandfather to Thyge, Shannon, Olivia, Reyk, and Nicholas. He worked for 20 years as a microbiologist and infection control coordinator at Northern Arizona Healthcare in Cottonwood, AZ, where he was an active supporter of the community. As a child, he was introduced to Arizona through his grandmother's Arizona Highways magazines. Thus was started his life-long love for the state that he always called home. He served in the U.S. Air Force after graduating from high school in Southern California, where he was born and raised. He got his undergraduate degree from Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR. Shortly afterward, he married Diana Bailey in San Luis Obispo, CA, on July 12, 1963. Over the next two decades, he raised a family as he earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in plant pathology from the University of Arizona, Tucson. He published several papers from his thesis and dissertation in a number of highly regarded scientific journals. He is greatly missed by his family, who carry on his spirit as they pass among the living.