Upper Township Rescue Squad Mourns Loss of EMT Doug Knobb

PETERSBURG— Upper Township Rescue Squad is mourning the loss of an inspiring individual who volunteered his service even as he battled illnesses.
EMT Douglass Knobb, 25, of Seaville died of complications from cancer on Wed., Oct. 13, at University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia.
Knobb, at age 14, was diagnosed with a gastro intestinal disease that caused him to be very sick in his teen years. At 19, he suffered from liver failure and received a liver transplant; he spent nearly a quarter of his life battling illness.
His close friend and mentor EMT Linwood Chatten said he did well with the transplant but the anti-rejection drug he was taking to prevent organ rejection caused a drug induced cancer, Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Chatten, grief-stricken, said Knobb was the “strongest person I had ever met.” Even though Knobb was sick he lived as if nothing was wrong with him.
Knobb, volunteered at Beacon Animal Rescue in Marmora; he worked at the Seaville CVS pharmacy as a registered pharmacy technician and attended Atlantic County Institute of Technology where he became a Licensed Practical Nurse.
He continued his education at Atlantic Cape Community College where he became a Registered Nurse.
Chatten said he wanted to work in the organ transplant field but never got the chance because of the cancer.
Chatten said Knobb joined Upper Township Rescue Squad in the summer of 2007, “when he first joined he was kind of quiet, but eventually we got him out of his shell.”
Chatten said he always made everyone smile and told jokes. “Here is a guy going through hell and he walks through the door with a smile and a good attitude every time ready to volunteer.”
When Chatten worked on the ambulance with Knobb he said he was “very caring and compassionate with patients’.”
Chatten and Knobb would become close friends while they worked together. Chatten spent time fishing and playing “fierce” ping pong games in his free time with Knobb.
Chatten said he is “devastated” over the loss of his friend who he talked to all most daily over the past several years.
Chatten and the other members of Upper Township Rescue Squad will be holding a public memorial service at their headquarters on CR-631 at 7 p.m., Mon., Oct. 18.
Obituary
KNOBB, DOUGLAS 25 – of Ocean View, passed away on October 13, 2010. He is survived by his parents Janice and Daniel Knobb. A 2003 graduate of Ocean City High School, Doug went on to receive his RN from ACCC. He worked as a Pharmacy Tech for CVS Pharmacy. He was also an active member of the Upper Township Rescue Squad. Doug will long be remembered as an avid Phillies fan. Doug was a liver recipient and advocate for the Gift of Life Foundation. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations to the Gift of Life Foundation (http://www.donors1.org/about/contribute/) or the Upper Township Rescue Squad (http://www.upperrescue.com/). A mass will be Said at the Church of the Resurrection 200 Tuckahoe Rd. Marmora NJ on Tuesday October 19, 2010 at12:00 noon. A visitation will be from 9:30am until time of mass. Burial to follow in Seaside Cemetery Palermo. There will be a gathering at the Seaville firehouse following the services. Arrangements by the Langley-Loveland Funeral Home Tuckahoe.