Died. Dr. Kent S. Knutson, 48, a chemical engineer who entered the ministry at 23 in response to what he termed a "haunting call" from God, and in 1970 was elected president of the 2.5 million-member American Lutheran Church; of a rare disease of the central nervous system; in Minneapolis. An energetic, scholarly theologian, Knutson won the presidency from nine older candidates after the first open political campaigning in the denomination's history.

Died. Norvell Gillespie, 59, horticulturist and former garden editor (Sunset magazine, Better Homes and Gardens, San Francisco Chronicle) who designed the jungle camouflage uniforms worn by American G.I.s in the Pacific during World War II; of cancer; in Berkeley, Calif.

Died. Murat Bernard ("Chic") Young, 72, creator of Dagwood and Blondie, the cartoon couple whose exploits are still followed by some 75 million newspaper readers around the world; of a lung embolism; in St. Petersburg, Fla. Young's original 1930 comic strip portrayed Dagwood Bumstead as the well-heeled playboy son of an industrialist and Blondie Boopadoop as a money-hungry, man-chasing flapper. The characters had little appeal for Depression audiences, so Young married the two in 1933, eventually gave them a son and daughter and all the trappings of middle-class life. Dagwood evolved into the harried family man who sought solace in the simple joys of hot baths, gargantuan sandwiches and surreptitious naps on the living room couch; Blondie was his loyal but slightly scramble-witted better half. The central cast and simple plots of Blondie remained virtually unchanged for decades, inspired 28 movies and a TV series, and earned Young $300,000 a year in royalties.

Died. Frank (the "Fordham Flash") Frisch, 74, fiery second baseman for the New York Giants during the 1920s, later player-manager of the St. Louis Cardinals' Gas House Gang (see SPORT). -

Died. Tim Buck, 82, leader of Canada's Communist Party from 1929 to 1962; of a stroke; in Cuernavaca, Mexico. The British-born son of a Tory pub owner. Buck immigrated to Canada in 1912 and helped launch the party nine years later. He faithfully toed the Kremlin line on everything from Stalin's prewar purges to the 1956 invasion of Hungary. Although the party managed to poll 111,892 votes in a 1945 federal election, the number of Communists in Canada had dwindled to fewer than 6,000 by the time he gave up the leadership for the honorary title of chairman.

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