"I recall" -Marvin Shilmer
It is an axiom that Marvin Shilmer is a brilliant person; in-spite, even 12 brilliant angry men just cannot see.
It is unfair to only target the failings of a man.
It is fair to say that Brother Knorr went out in service with the group with everybody else, in the rain, in the snow, in the heat, in the cold, and on foot -even after his cancer treatment. Bethel service comes first, but I cannot recall NHK missing meetings. NHK gave his assigned talks in his KH ministry school that he was enrolled in and served as elder on top of all of his other duties at Bethel and as president of the wt (until brain cancer just made it impossible) -even during his bout with brain cancer.
There was a dignified air about NHK that was proper because he was the president of the watchtower, yet NHK was an extremely humble man, I observed.
It seems to me that the reason why Brother Knorr refused to work with the group or with anyone on that day that you relate about in your post is because he saw that it was not proper for the brethren to give him so much special attention, and being the spiritual man that he was, and perhaps not to give fuel to some wekaness, he walked away rather than risk being tempted to enjoy the feeling of being glorified by the brothers. It is fair to say though, that NHK was human and had failings just as any other man.
We got to the territory..
Very revealing, and may the reason for why so much color in your commentaries.