Frederick C. Kniesler

Rick Kniesler, 62, of Asbury Park passed away on January 29, 2017 after a brief illness.

Born in Trenton, Rick grew up in Upper Freehold Township and graduated from Allentown High. He was an avid gardener who, as an adolescent, built a greenhouse and sold tomatoes and marigolds at craft fairs. Rick later turned this passion into a career by pursuing a landscape architecture degree from the University of Virginia, where he was the business editor of the Cavalier Daily. He later earned a graduate degree in planning from the University of Pennsylvania.

Rick was active in both the landscape architecture and planning fields throughout his career, working for several municipalities and engineering firms in both Monmouth and Ocean County. Over the years, Rick served as president of the New Jersey State Board of Architects, the only landscape architect to do so, and was an active member of several other landscape architecture & planning boards and associations at the state and national level. As lifelong history buff, Rick was active in the Monmouth County Historical Association and served a term as its President. He enjoyed spending his free time at the Jersey shore.

Rick is survived by his two daughters, Sarah, of Gainesville, FL and Martha of Red Bank, NJ. He is also survived by his parents, Fred and Bunny Kniesler of Allentown, and his siblings and their spouses, Chris and Kathy Kniesler of Cream Ridge, Greg and Krista Kniesler of Westminster, MD, and Maria and Michael Flynn of Weymouth, MA. Rick also leaves behind his special friend, Paul Wennberg of Asbury Park as well as many nieces and nephews.

Services will be private under the direction of Peppler Funeral Home, Allentown. In lieu of flowers, Sarah and Martha ask that donations be made in Rick's honor to the Monmouth County Historical Association, 70 Court Street, Freehold, New Jersey 07728 or www.monmouthhistory.org