Seven years after the death of a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper from Fredericksburg, his family and co-workers are coming together to memorialize his name on a sign to be placed on Interstate 10.
"It will be something that's everlasting for his children, Makayla and Wyatt," said Jennifer Knapp Miller, Kurt David Knapp's widow.
The 28-year-old trooper died May 7, 2004, from injuries sustained in a wreck when he was patrolling on I-10.
An 18-foot by 12-foot sign is scheduled to be unveiled at the Kurt Knapp Memorial Golf Tournament at 10 a.m. Saturday to memorialize Knapp. It will be hung above the eastbound lane on I-10 right on the Kendall and Kerr county line.
"I hope that they can remember what a wonderful person Kurt was, not just as a trooper, but as a father and a husband," Knapp Miller said of what she wants people to think about when they see the sign.
Knapp's mother, Jeannie Knapp, said she was expecting the sign to be smaller.
"Oh, my gosh, I'm just, I don't know, I'm just awed by it," Jeannie Knapp said, almost speechless.
She said she hopes the sign will be a good reminder for people to "have love and respect" for the troopers and to know what they go through when they put their uniform on.
"They're all in the line of duty, and Kurt was a part of that," she said.
Knapp joined the DPS in October 1998. Raised in Kerrville, he was a 1994 graduate of Tivy High School.
DPS trooper James Salaz, who was partners with Knapp in Fredericksburg before his death, said the sign memorializes the work Knapp did in his community.
"I am proud to have known Kurt, because I know what he meant to the community and his importance to the state of Texas as a highway patrolman," Salaz said.
"Every time I go to San Antonio and I pass that sign, it's going to bring a smile to my face, because I know what kind of father, son, husband and person he was."
Knapp was the 77th trooper to lose his life in the line of duty and the 24th to die as a result of a traffic accident, according to DPS information.
"This is all he ever wanted to do besides rodeo," Salaz said of Knapp.
Salaz said the sign has been seven years in the making and was introduced through a bill that was passed in the last legislative session by Rep. Doug Miller, R-New Braunfels.
He added that he hopes Knapp's name on the sign will prompt people to learn more about the trooper.
"I hope they learn a little about how police put their life on the line," Salaz said.
The Kurt Knapp Memorial Golf Tournament, where the sign will be unveiled, will be played at Scott Schreiner Municipal Golf Course.
Proceeds benefit Tivy and Fredericksburg graduating seniors who apply for the Kurt Knapp Memorial Scholarship Fund.
Salaz said they have given more than $100,000 to seniors over the past seven years.
"I just believe it's a true honor," Knapp Miller said of the sign for her deceased husband.
Copyright 2011 - Kerrville Daily Times, Texas
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
