Meet John Knochelmann, Sr.
Our business is a family business and we treat our customers like family. Because of this, I wanted to introduce the family so you could get to know us. My father, John Knochelmann, Sr. started all of us in the plumbing, heating and cooling business in this area when he started the original Knochelmann company with his 2 brothers.
I think he is the most fitting place to start the introductions, since it was at his side I learned everything about how to treat customers and provide quality workmanship. This is a recent picture of my mother and father. My father, John Knochelmann, Sr., was born in Covington, KY in 1926. He is the second oldest of nine children who grew up in West Covington and attended St. John’s school. He graduated from Covington Latin School in 1941 just before the U.S. entered WWII. He was trained in the Navy as a gunner but never saw active duty as the war ended just before he was to be shipped out. After returning from the service, he attended and graduated from Xavier University with a degree in Business.
My father’s professional career started at Proctor and Gamble and he then went on to become a partner in an engineering firm in Covington. He started a family in the neighborhood just off what is now I-75. He joined his brother’s plumbing business in Ft. Thomas. They later moved to Covington in the early ‘70s. He built his family home in Taylor Mill and lived there until retiring in the late 1980s. He then moved back to Covington. He and my mother are the proud parents of nine and grandparents of 35.
My father has served on many local boards through the years including St. Anthony Parish, Redwood Rehab, and the local plumbers’ association. He has always had a reputation for hard work, straight forward communication, and unquestionable integrity. I’ve learned a great deal from my father since starting to work for him while I was still in high school. One of my father’s favorite sayings is, “Prior Proper Planning Prevents Pitiful Poor Performance”, and boy, is that true.
My dad’s favorite meal is a steak and potato. He loves John Phillips in Crestview Hills. He’s not a vegetable guy. He follows the Reds, Bengals, as well as Xavier basketball, even though you wouldn’t call him a sports fanatic. For hobbies, my dad tried golf in retirement but quickly realized you couldn’t just study and get it down. He was always too busy working and taking care of the family to have many other hobbies, but he did build a great deal of our furniture in our house so that woodworking skill definitely played an important role for us growing up.
I hope this helps give you an idea of who the Knochelmanns are and what we stand for. We are very proud of our business and our family and we want you to know that we will always treat you right – like you’re part of the family.
Kris Knochelmann
President/Owner