Frank Knoblauch – 50th Reunion Essay

Frank Knoblauch

Date of Death: 24-Jan-2016

College: Morse

(Brad Gascoigne submitted this memorial to the May/June 2016 Class Notes.)

A West Hartford psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Frank died on January 24, 2016, due to complications from prostate cancer. Frank entered Yale in September 1965 from the Blake School in Minneapolis and graduated, a member of Trumbull College and Book and Snake, in 1970, after spending our sophomore year teaching English as a second language in Colombia. His MD was from the UConn School of Medicine, and he completed his psychiatric residency at Yale and his psychoanalytic training at Western New England Psychoanalytic Institute, where he was a member of its society. He was a staff psychiatrist at the Institute of Living in Hartford, at Windham Hospital, and, since 1991, in private practice. He was passionate about his work and happy to have helped countless numbers of people over the course of his career.

Frank was a gentle soul, highly intelligent without pretense. Humble and kind, he possessed an endearing sense of humor, further enhanced by his “Minnesota optimism.” He was always inquisitive and interested in learning, a true lifelong student. He eagerly engaged in conversations and discussions that could range from Noam Chomsky to the origin of words, to golf or UConn basketball. Frank was fluent in Spanish and enjoyed studying languages throughout his life. He loved family gatherings, his numerous friends, vacationing in Cape Cod, and chocolate cake.

He married Elizabeth (Bette) Kriscenski in 1971 and leaves her and his beloved son Daniel as well as brothers Loring ’64 and Tom ’73. Roommates Steve Bemis, Mabry Rogers, and Ralph Schmidt joined many scores of friends and family in tribute to Frank at a memorial service held January 30 in Farmington.