During his more than 50 years as a barber, there wasn’t a head of hair Dick Knouase didn’t welcome.
But besides cutting hair he also was known for the conversation that flowed amid the hum of clippers and snip-snip of scissors, said daughter Julie Knouase of Woodstock.
To her father, building relationships was as important as the right trim, and Mr. Knouase was an expert at both. He worked hard to not let personal challenges, such as deteriorating health, interfere with the service he provided his clients.
“He might be having the worst day of his life, but he would go in and nobody else would know that,” Julie Knouase said.
Richard A. Knouase, 75, of Woodstock died Sept. 1 of kidney and heart failure after a long illness. A memorial service is planned for 2 p.m. Saturday at Northside Chapel Funeral Directors in Roswell, which is handling arrangements.
Julie Knouase said it’s hard to remember a time when her father did not have a set of clippers. After finishing high school in the farming community of Manchester, Mich., Mr. Knouase commuted to barber school 50 miles away in Detroit.
It was around that time he married his wife of 56 years, Mary. The two grew up together in Manchester.
Mr. Knouase always wanted to be a barber, said his younger brother and former business partner, Neil Knouase of Palm Harbor, Fla. After working some years in Ann Arbor, Mich., the brothers opened their own shop on the River Raisin in Manchester in 1962.
"It was good for him, so I figured it would work out well for both of us," said Neil Knouase, whose father had told him he needed to follow his older brother's example and find a trade.
"He never missed a day of work," Neil Knouase said of his brother.
They closed their Manchester shop in 1970, and their families moved to Clearwater Beach, Fla., where they opened a barber shop at the marina.
In 1980, Dick Knouase and his family moved to metro Atlanta, where he opened another barbershop in Roswell. Mr. Knouase eventually sold his interest to a partner and joined the staff at Gino & Jackson barbershop in Alpharetta in 2007.
Co-owner Rita Jackson said Mr. Knouase last worked for Gino & Jackson and its companion shop, Barker-Jackson Master Barbers in Canton, a year and a half ago. It was about that time his health began to decline.
Ms. Jackson remembered Mr. Knouase as an “excellent barber” who built "a tremendous customer base" as he alternated between the Alpharetta and Canton shops. She credited his success to his ability to relate to clients from all walks of life.
“Whether he was talking to somebody that was 5 years old or 85, he always had something in common or something he could reach back and talk to that person about,” she said. “We still have customers asking about Dick.”
Mr. Knouase passed along his passion for hair grooming to his two daughters, one of whom, Julie, continues in the profession today as a stylist for the elderly.
Aside from barbering, Mr. Knouase's other passion was Southern gospel music, especially songs from the Gaither Music Group’s label. He also played the piano and organ.
Additional survivors include another daughter, Sally Veazey of Gainesville, and a son, Jeff Knouase of Manchester, Mich.
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