John F. Knoke Sr., age 90, of Waupaca, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on Monday, June 6, 2022, at ThedaCare Regional Medical Center in Appleton. He was born July 3, 1931, in Shawano, son of Herman and Lucy (Lotharius) Knoke. When John was only 12 years old, he came by train to Waupaca for the first time to work on a potato farm east of town, which is when he first came to love the area. John served in the U.S. Marine Corps from Dec. 11, 1951, until he was honorably discharged on Dec. 2, 1953, where he was stationed stateside in Florida during the Korean War. On May 29, 1954, he married Illa M. Hagen in Minneapolis, and together through the years they raised six children and were blessed with 14 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.