Robert Bob Minot Knowles

NAPLES, Fla. - Robert (Bob) Minot Knowles passed away peacefully on June 29, 2013, at his home in Naples, Fla.,

with his family by his side.

Bob was born at home in Boston, Mass., on Sept. 8, 1923, the son of Commander Herbert P. Knowles, USNA Ret. and Irene Patch Knowles. He grew up in Providence, R.I., and Worcester, Mass. Bob attended North High School in Worcester and graduated from the Severn School in Severna Park, Md. In 1941, he entered The United States Naval Academy, following in the footsteps of his father, graduating in June 1944. Upon graduation, he elected to serve in submarines, completing sub training in New London, Conn.

Active duty was primarily in the Pacific Theater aboard the submarine Piranha from 1944-1947.

Bob was honorably discharged as a Lieutenant JG and resigned his naval commission to pursue a career in medicine. He completed prerequisite courses at Clark University in Worcester, Mass., and in 1948 entered the Long Island College of Medicine in Brooklyn, N.Y., graduating in 1952 from what had been renamed the State University of New York, College of Medicine at Brooklyn Downstate. Bob completed internship and residency programs at Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Conn.; his last post was Chief Resident-Obstetrics and Gynecology. In 1957, he and his family (his first wife, Anne, and four children) moved to Portland, where he joined a private practice in ObGyn, partnering with Drs McCann and Bennett. Bob's personal and professional relationship with these two colleagues resulted in lifelong friendships and a happy and rewarding 30-year practice. He enjoyed privileges at both the Mercy Hospital and Maine Medical Center until his retirement in 1987.

Bob was an extremely accomplished, avid and highly respected sailor. He acquired his love for the sea at an early age, having summered as a boy for several years with his grandfather, Captain Herbert M. Knowles on Strawberry Island in Point Judith Pond, R.I.

Capt. Knowles had been Superintendent Third Life-Saving District, Wakefield, R.I., and was an avid yachtsman who taught Bob the ways of the sea. Until more recently, Bob could be found at every opportunity between May and October aboard one of his boats, either day tripping in Casco Bay or cruising further afield. Bob particularly loved gunk- holing along the Maine coast with his family. He had a keen eye for the fine lines of a proper yacht and for proper seamanship. He imparted both his love of the sea and passion for sailing to his children and grandchildren and to countless friends who were fortunate enough to share afternoons with him, close hauled with the rail under or running free before a following breeze.

Bob built a small pram for his growing family, then cruised on charter until he eventually owned a succession of sailboats. He finally turned to power in his late 70s. His boats included a Pilot 35, 'Tecumseh,' two Nonesuch designs, a Grand Banks and a Holland lobster boat. Bob was a lifelong student of the sea and sailing, constantly reading and refining his skills and expertise and furthering his already abundant knowledge with courses, including celestial navigation, weather forecasting, and diesel engine maintenance.

Bob was always onto the new new thing and he relished sharing his discoveries and passions with family and friends. In the mid-1950s, Bob bought one of the earliest aqualungs and taught himself to scuba dive. It wasn't long before he and friends were diving in the Caribbean, taking underwater photos and spearfishing. He taught his oldest daughter, Pam, to dive when she was only eight. In the late 1970s, Bob bought one of the very first Radio Shack computers, the TRS-80, and taught himself to use it and then to write programs; he wrote two programs for use in his medical office. They were so successful, his medical colleagues were soon asking for copies, which he happily supplied. As Regional Treasurer of the first district of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a position he held for many years, Bob received special recognition and an innovation award for computerizing their financial records. Bob also dabbled in gadgets of all kinds. He was an early and lifelong devotee of Apple and owned virtually every product offering from Apple. He began using email before most of us and he bought the very first iPhone and was soon demonstrating all that it could do and recommending apps to his children and grandchildren. He preferred downloading books, and continued to keep up-to-date with family and friends via his iPhone and iPad until shortly before his death.

Bob was a Civil War scholar. He was fascinated by the War and all its intricacies - political and military. He knew the minutest details of battles and strategies as well as the generals, politicians and personalities of the time.

Bob was also an accomplished hunter and fly fisherman; even tying his own trout flies. He and several of his friends leased a rundown lumber camp in Jackman, which they continually improved over the years, and where they gathered for many memorable hunting, fishing, and snowmobiling trips, including one in which the outhouse was accidentally blown to smithereens!

Bob loved to cook; his family will always remember his legendary and delicious Yorkshire pudding, popovers, apple and blueberry pies and homemade breads, all of which contained some secret ingredient. Bob also loved to garden and for a time had a small greenhouse, chock full of flowering plants and seedlings awaiting transplant to the outside garden plot.

Bob enjoyed photography; starting in his boyhood years he developed and printed his own film. Of course, he was an early adopter of digital photography and enjoyed enhancing and modifying photos. Bob's interests also included voracious reading, all manner of music (Dorsey to Caruso), skiing, woodworking (you name it-he built it), woodcarving, scrimshaw, hooking rugs, and a variety of marlinspike seamanship projects.

Bob loved Maine, maintaining a succession of houses in the Greater Portland area, although he and his wife, Rebecca, have come to greatly appreciate spending the colder months at their home in Naples, Fla.

Bob is survived by his wife Rebecca, whom he married in 1975. He is also survived by his children, five from a previous marriage to Anne Marie Washburn (who predeceased him): Pamela Knowles Lawrason of Cumberland, Alexander B. Knowles and his wife, Linda, of Jamestown, R.I., Judith K. Bolger and her husband, David, of Burbank, Calif., Robert M. Knowles Jr. of Antioch, Calif., and Sarah K. Dent and her husband, Daniel, of Holliston, Mass.; and his stepchildren, Christopher Sawtelle of Tulsa, Okla., and Holly Sawtelle of Portland; plus 16 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. His sister, Nancy Higgins, and brother-in-law and submarine shipmate, James Higgins, of Brunswick, also predeceased Bob.

Bob and his family would like to thank Avow Hospice, Naples, Fla., for their compassionate and professional care over many months.

There will be a gathering of family and friends in Maine which will be announced at a future date. Funeral arrangements entrusted to Garfield Funeral Care, Naples, Fla. (239) 596-5288.

Those wishing to make donations in Bob's memory may consider:

The Wounded Warrior Project

P.O. Box 758517

Topeka, Kansas 66675 (support.woundedwarriorproject.org)

or

Maine Medical Center

22 Bramhall St.

Portland, Maine 04102

(fundraising.mmc.org)