Jack T. Knuepfer (November 16, 1920 – September 13, 2006) was an American businessman and politician. Born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Knuepfer went to Oak Park High School. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

; prior to the United States entering World War II, Knuepfer was an ambulance driver for the British Army. Knuepfer went to Carlton College and received his master's degree in business from

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. He worked for his family's machine tool business: General Engineering Works in

Elmhurst, Illinois Elmhurst is a city mostly in DuPage County and overlapping into Cook County in the U.S. state of Illinois, and a western suburb of Chicago. As of 2021, the city has an estimated population of 47,260. History Members of the Potawatomi Native A ...

. He served on the Elmhurst City Council. Then, in 1965, Knuepner served in the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

and was a Republican. From 1967 to 1975, Knuepfer served in the Illinois State Senate. From 1978 to 1990, Knuepfer served as chairman of the

DuPage County, Illinois DuPage County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, and one of the collar counties of the Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 932,877, making it Illinois' second-most populous county. Its county seat is ...

Board of Commissioners. Knuepfer died at Elmhurst Memorial Hospital in Elmhurst, Illinois.'Jack Knuepfer: 1920-2006,' Chicago Tribune, Joel Sjostrom, September 14, 2006 A through arch bridge that spans the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

tracks in West Chicago, Illinois is named after Knuepfer. The bridge is part of the Illinois Prairie Path and was completed in 1990. It won the American Institute of Steel Construction Prize Bridge Competition Award of Merit.

Notes

1920 births 2006 deaths Politicians from Chicago People from Elmhurst, Illinois Carleton College alumni University of Chicago alumni Businesspeople from Illinois County executives in Illinois County commissioners in Illinois Illinois city council members Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Republican Party Illinois state senators 20th-century American legislators 20th-century American businesspeople United States Army personnel of World War II 20th-century Illinois politicians {{Illinois-Ilrepresentative-stub