Bill taught many of us not just how to succeed, but how to make that success matter. Guest columnist

Greg Abel of Des Moines is Berkshire Hathaway vice chair for non-insurance operations.

The state of Iowa has lost a giant, and I have lost a great friend.

Bill Knapp was a man whose life embodied service, humility and purpose. He once remarked that, “We live in a great state and a great country and those of us who are successful have a great obligation to put something back.”

It was not just something he said. It was how he lived.

Bill’s character was shaped by the times he lived through. He grew up on a modest Iowa farm during the Great Depression, when families relied on resilience, sacrifice and one another to endure. That experience instilled in him a quiet discipline and a lifelon

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