Thomas William Knipstein's Obituary
Dr. Thomas William Knipstein passed away peacefully on February 25, 2026, at his home in Escondido following a short illness. His wife of 63 years, Nancy, and oldest daughter were at his side.
Born in Fort Wayne Indiana to Esther and Alvin Knipstein, Tom was cross-country runner and an avid learner, who was always curious about the world around him. Tom graduated in 1954 from South Side High School in Fort Wayne and enrolled at Purdue University School of Pharmacy in 1958.
He was a member of the Delta Chi fraternity forming life-long friendships with his brothers. He was Editor of the Purdue Pharmacist Journal.
After graduating from Purdue, he enrolled in Indiana University’s School of Medicine. During a summer break from medical school he worked as a pharmacist in a medical clinic and met a nurse, Nancy Zurbriggen, who would be the love of his life. She shared his curiosity and ambitions of adventure and experiencing life.
They were married in Nashville, Indiana in 1962 and Tom graduated from medical school in 1963. He accepted an internship at San Bernardino County Hospital, and they followed their dream of living in the West. Soon they welcomed their first child, Ellen.
As the internship was ending, the war in Vietnam was growing and not even a young doctor at the launch of a career could outrun the draft. He was drafted into the Navy and stationed at Camp Pendleton, assigned to an anesthesiology residency at Balboa Hospital in San Diego and afterwards into practice at the Navy Hospital Subic Bay, Philippines. Fortunately, the whole family followed him in his travels. Along the way they gathered life-long friends and two more children: Steve (Camp Pendleton) and Ann (Subic Bay).
After his Navy discharge in 1969 he became an anesthesiologist on the staff of Palomar Hospital in Escondido, and welcomed their fourth child, Greg. He was a leader in the medical community and served as President of the Medical Staff in 1986. He later was certified in Family Practice and operated a private practice for decades, then later joined The Graybill Medical Group until his retirement in 2004. Many patients recall his easy office manner and energetic love of the outdoors.
Tom was an active member of the Escondido community for more than 50 years. He served on many committees with city government, the Escondido Center for the Arts and local ecology groups. Tom and Nancy attended San Diego Opera for 40 years. He was also a member of the International Palm Society. He grew nearly 100 different species of palms around his Escondido home.
His greatest accomplishments of all were as a husband, father, grandfather and friend. There was nothing more enjoyable to him than to be with his growing, musical family singing along with family music sessions after an amazing meal. He was German through and through and life was perfect after a meal of brats and sauerkraut. He loved German cars, owned several VW camper vans, traveling across our beautiful country. Tom and Nancy visited 49 states in the vans only missing Alaska. His favorite memories were camping in the Sierras especially the Eastern Slopes with the family hiking the many wind-swept passes even climbing Mt. Whitney together. Tom loved sailing at Mission Bay in their Coronado 15.
Yes, he was a true Californian but his roots in the Midwest ran deep and there were few Memorial Day Weekends that didn’t feature the Indianapolis 500 Race or March Madness Basketball with him rooting for his beloved Purdue Boilermakers and adopted Indiana Hoosiers.
His legacy lives on through his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who will remember him for his passion for life, thirst for knowledge and love of his family. He will live forever in our hearts.
Tom is survived by his wife, Nancy, children Ellen Erath (Glenn), their children Andrew Warrick-Erath (Anna)and son Leon: Laura Escarcega (Kibsaim); and Kate Macfarlane (Will) and their son Henry; Steve Knipstein (Julie) and children Max and Zoey; Ann Wight (Don) and their children Jacob, Gavin and Caroline; Greg Knipstein (Shannon) and their children Nolan and Weston. Brother, Richard Knipstein (Gwen) Carmel, Indiana.
A celebration of life will be held at Dittus Hall Redwood Terrace Community in Escondido on Sunday, May 3rd at 2pm. A burial with military honors will be held at Miramar National Cemetery on Monday, May 4th at 10:30am.
En lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Team Max at the Illinois Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation through the following link.
What’s your fondest memory of Thomas?
What’s a lesson you learned from Thomas?
Share a story where Thomas' kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Thomas you’ll never forget.
How did Thomas make you smile?