Born: September 2, 1940
Died: December 6, 2018
James Knowles died peacefully in Pittsburgh, surrounded by his loving wife of 57 years, Sherin, whom he married in April of our junior year, his brother and a nephew.
After time at Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh, he graduated from Andover. At Yale he majored in History and was on the Dean’s List. He finished his MBA at Harvard in 1964 before beginning his financial career at Pittsburgh National Bank, where he helped them form their first equity/venture capital division. From his obituary (12.8.18) in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “James was instrumental in the formation and continuation of several firms that today are recognized as Pittsburgh traditions and well-recognized and iconic brands. One of his greatest achievements was…helping form UPMC, (The #1 rated hospital in Pittsburgh, with a huge outreach). James was an avid golfer, cigar aficionado, and wine enthusiast. His most treasured moments were hosting his extended family in Pittsburgh, Ligonier or Nassau.”
In a conversation with Sherin I learned that one of the penalties (rewards!?) of marrying in April of our junior year was that he was released from NROTC and had to spend the summer before beginning his MBA at Harvard in New Haven to take an extra Spanish course. As she pointed out, summers in New Haven are not the best of times, but they had a somewhat younger Yale friend, Chip Brennan, who shared his apartment and his boat. They had a dog named Justerini and Brooks, christened from a frequent libation, J & B, and had 6 tanks of tropical fish, into which one evening another Yale friend, Ned Evans, poured a glass of milk, leading to hilarity and a long night of tank cleaning.
Along with his wife of 57 years, Sherin Hetherington Knowles; he is survived by three children, Janet K. Johnson, of Greenland, N.H., Pack A. Knowles, of Rye, N.H., and Sherin K. Spofford and her husband, Charles, of Concord, Mass.; six grandchildren; and a brother
John H. Stewart