William Arthur Knox

WILLIAM A. KNOX
Jan. 8, 1945-Dec. 16, 2025
Judge by Profession; Nonjudgemental in Life
The Honorable William A. Knox, retired Federal Magistrate Judge for the Western District of Missouri, passed away Dec. 16, 2025, at his home in Columbia after a cancer diagnosis. He was 80 years old.
Visitation will be held Dec. 30 at 9:30 a.m. at The Crossing Church. Services will begin at 11 a.m. and conclude with military funeral honors. Friends and family are then invited to a celebration of life luncheon at the church.
"Bill" was a civil servant, husband to Kay, father of three children and best friend to many. He served the public for multiple years through three careers in law: with the U.S. Coast Guard, as a University of Missouri professor of law and as a Federal Magistrate Judge.
He loved his family. He loved being outdoors, especially near water. Among his favorite things: boats, cars, trucks, motorcycles, ice hockey, Labrador retrievers and travel with Kay, whom he married in 1992.
You might say Bill grew up with the law, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, earning a law degree, as they had done, from the University of Minnesota School of Law. But Bill forged his own path, graduating cum laude, attaining membership in the university's prestigious Law Review and earning membership in the Order of the Coif, the nation's honor society recognizing exceptional academic performance in law.
After graduating in 1968, Bill was commissioned as a lieutenant in the U.S. Coast Guard, serving as an attorney in the Judge Advocate General's Corps. In that capacity, he traveled throughout the United States defending Courts Marshal. He was stationed in Boston, Mass., and Juneau, Alaska., where his travels by boat to remote villages strengthened his skills in boating.
In his second career, Bill taught classes in criminal law and trial practice for 13 years, starting in 1972, at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law, where he made friends of numerous colleagues and delighted in his students' successes.
Bill's third career began in 1985 with his appointment to the bench as Federal Magistrate Judge for the Western District of Missouri, in Jefferson City. During that time, he chaired the Eighth Circuit Model Civil and Criminal Jury Instruction Sub-committees, work that changed the law on jury instructions in court procedure; he wrote West's Federal Forms-Criminal, a collection of federal forms from different states for use by the legal community; and he wrote three editions of Missouri Criminal Practice, a textbook of rules for conducting cases that developed and clarified instructions for trial procedure in Missouri and nearby states. The book is used by all of Missouri's law schools. Bill retired from the bench in 2010 but continued to serve on recall status.
There was a lot of fun in Bill's life. He enjoyed a challenge and learning new things. In later life, he wrote a children's book, Grandpa's Big Black Truck, dedicated to his grandson Grayson Knox. He enrolled in cooking classes to gain culinary skills, sharpening his knife handling and sauce making. Among his finest culinary accomplishments - roast tenderloin of beef with chausseur sauce. Then it was on to music. He bought two harps, one for the couple's home, another for their lake home, and hired a teacher who patiently worked with Bill, a real beginner. His greatest musical accomplishment - a pretty darn good rendition of "Silent Night."
Bill enjoyed holding court and bantering with a group of longtime friends, the self-named Nerds. Those friends and their children gave him years of occasions to use his boating skills. At the helm of a 41-foot-Chris Craft cabin cruiser, Bill could back that 12-foot wide boat into a 16-foot slip while fighting a moving current. Thank you, Coast Guard.
Bill was grateful to his parents, Frank and LaVerne Knox, for raising him in the town of Fargo, N.D., where he enjoyed a typical Midwest childhood of school, hockey and playing with his siblings: Steve, Windsor, Colo.; Mary Knox-Johnson, Bemidji, Minn.; James, Bemidji, Minn.; John, M.D., deceased; and Margaret Knox, deceased. Bill and Kay would visit the family most summers at Big Bass Lake in northern Minnesota.
Bill is survived by his wife; son William J. Knox, D.O., Rolla, Mo.; daughter Jennifer Knox, Columbia; son Barrett and wife Maddison, Millersburg, Mo.; niece/adopted daughter Cassandra Burnett, Belen, N.M.; grandsons Grayson Knox, Carthage, N.Y., Forrest Knox-Daly, Albuquerque, N.M., Owen Dack, Lupus, Mo., and Cian Nix, Belen, N.M.
As usual and like the judge he was, Bill requested the final word in his obituary as he prepared to enter a new jurisdiction:
"It is my hope that when I reach the pearly gates, I will be greeted with - 'Adequately done, my mostly loyal servant. Come on in.'"
The family would like to extend special thanks to Mrs. Nancy Moen for the development and construction of such a wonderful life reflection that has solidified his legacy.
Arrangements are under the direction of Parker-Millard Funeral Service and Crematory, 12 E. Ash St.; Columbia, Missouri 65203. (573) 449-4153. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.milardfamilychapels.com