George Knaust, aviation engineer, 84

George A. Knaust got the aviation bug early, maintaining planes on a Navy aircraft carrier right out of high school before going on to help design them as an engineer for Republic Aviation Corp. and later Fairchild-Republic Corp., relatives said.

Knaust, 84, died Jan. 22 at Nassau University Medical Center of pneumonia after a stroke. He spent 35 years working for the aerospace company, primarily on military contracts, said his daughter, Kathy Knaust of the Auburndale section of Queens.

Born in Brooklyn, Knaust grew up there and in Queens. After graduating from Brooklyn Technical High School, he enlisted in the Navy for two years in the late 1940s, she said.

In 1952 he moved his family to Westbury and a year later got a job at Republic, based in East Farmingdale. While working there full-time, he went part-time to Hofstra College, now Hofstra University, and earned a physics degree in 1958.

While working for Republic, Knaust also ran his own circuitry-design consulting business, named Parkwood Industries. In addition, he held several patents for chemical mixing processes, his daughter said.

While he liked to dabble in the stock market, she said, "his work was his life."

In addition to his daughter Kathy, he is survived by his daughters Maureen Albanese of Hicksville and Doreen Knaust of Levittown; sons Edward Knaust of Sarasota, Fla., and John Knaust and Robert Knaust, both of Bay Shore; a brother, Ronald Knaust of Merrick; 12 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

A memorial will be held Feb. 19, with details available through Majestic Funeral Services in Hollis, Queens.