Joseph William “Joe” Knowles, 100 years old, died at his residence in Williamsport, MD on Sunday, November 27, 2022.
Joe was born June 4, 1922, in Headland Alabama and grew up on a working farm. He was the son of the late Orbit E. Knowles and Willie Solomon Knowles. Joe was a Minister and Pastoral Psychotherapist, as well as a dearly loved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. He married Elizabeth L. “Betty” Knowles on August 28, 1948, in Bristol, VA. In 1951, Joe and Betty started their family when a daughter, Katherine “Kathy” Louise was born.
Joe was a trail blazer in the field of Pastoral Counseling. He was the Instructor in Pastoral Counseling for both The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and the Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY during 1951 through 1953. Later that year, the family moved to Los Angeles, CA when Joe became Director of the Baptist Counseling Service. In 1954, he was a Diplomat and Founder of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors. Joe was also and member and Fellow of the American Association of Marriage and Family Counselors and a past member of the Rotary Club.
In 1958, the family moved to Houston, TX, where Joe was Professor of Pastoral Counseling and Director of the Pastoral Counseling Center in the Institute of Religion at the Texas Medical Center from 1958-1963.
In 1963, the family moved to the Washington, DC area where Joe created the counseling Service of the Church of the Savior in Washington, DC. There Joe and Betty, who was also a qualified therapist, developed a fulltime practice in individual, marriage and group counseling and psychotherapy. In 1970, Joe became a fulltime staff member of the Pastoral Counseling and Consultation Centers of Greater Washington. Simultaneously, he co-founded the Creativity Institute, offering retreat programs for growth and human potential. Joe continued to work as a psychotherapist until he fully retired in his seventies. After moving from Washington, DC, Joe and Betty lived in Winchester, VA for many years. Throughout his life, he was involved in local church activities. In 2010, they moved to Homewood at Williamsport Retirement Center in Williamsport, MD. Betty died in January of 2018 and Joe continued to live at Homewood until his death.
During his leisure, on vacations and in retirement, Joe spent time at a small cabin on the Cacapon River in West Virginia. There he was always building something, sawing wood, nailing boards and creating. He was the carpenter at heart in his free time. If not building something, he would enjoy fishing with his grandchildren. Joe Knowles will be remembered as a gentle, kind and wise man.
He is survived by his daughter, Katherine Louise Haldeman of Leland, NC; two grandchildren: Lauren Haldeman and husband, Ben Fortune, of Iowa City, IA and James Haldeman and wife, Sally, of Poolesville, MD; and three great grandchildren: Amber Fortune, Avery Haldeman, and Lillian “Lilly” Haldeman. He was predeceased by his wife, Betty L. Knowles, his sister, Inez K. Martin and his brother-in-law, Lamon Martin, and as well as, his son-in-law, Paul Haldeman and his grandson, Ryan Patrick Haldeman.
Services will be private.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Homewood Foundation, 16107 Elliott Pkwy., Williamsport, MD, 21795. In the Memo section write: Williamsport-Joe Knowles

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