YARMOUTH – Mr. Blair Alan Knapp died peacefully at his home surrounded by his family on November 6, 2019, in Yarmouth, Maine. He was 86.

Blair is survived by his children, Elizabeth Anne Olesen (Kevin Casey Olesen) of Portland, Maine, Blair Alan Knapp Jr. (Gregory Gordon Greer) of Arlington, Virginia, and Lawrence Henry Knapp (Mary Frances Hadley) of Folly Beach, South Carolina. He took great pride in his four grandchildren, Jonathon Christian Olesen, Casey Mitchum Olesen, Abigail Marie (Doug) Lenhardt (née Knapp), and Katherine Elizabeth Knapp, and his great-granddaughter, Piper Ann Lenhardt.

Blair was born on Jan. 8, 1933, in Watertown, New York, to Roscoe Lawrence Knapp and Helen (née Fuller). He graduated from New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University in 1954 with a concentration in Plastic Technology, where he was Vice President of the Forestry Club and a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. He would continue this intellectual pursuit through his long career at S.D. Warren.

After accepting a commission in the U.S. Navy, while serving at Jacksonville Naval Air Station, he fell hard, first on a basketball court, then for a pretty young Navy nurse who attended to him, Charlotte, with whom he was inseparable through their life together spanning 60 years. Together, they raised their three children in Boston, Massachusetts, Muskegon, Michigan, and Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

In Maine, Blair discovered sailing, an activity that would become his and Charlotte’s passion. During their 40 years sailing the New England coast, all who visited enjoyed this passion with them, followed by dinner along the Falmouth waterfront, at Handy Boat, or at the Portland Yacht Club, where they were members for some 25 years. Few who apprenticed at the Mill didn’t also sail on Blair’s sailboat.

In addition to sailing, he and Charlotte filled their retirement years discovering the world, and rediscovering a Europe he first encountered on Cruise while in the Navy in the early 1950s. Together, they explored the British Isles, Baltic States, Greece, Turkey, the Mediterranean Coast, as well as the Caribbean, and Alaska.

Blair was an aggressive tennis player, avid golfer, and baseball fan, umpiring little league and following the Red Sox throughout his life. He was fiercely loyal to his Syracuse University Orangemen, tailgating with family and friends for years. Proud of his association with the US Navy, Blair retired as a Captain in the USNR.

Family and friends are invited to a celebration of his life on Sunday, November 17, at 1 p.m., at the First Parish Congregational Church, Main Street, Yarmouth, Maine. A light reception will follow.

Those having a fond memory are encouraged to share it during the service at the church.

The family would like to thank Visiting Angels, Home Partners, and Northern Light Health for their care and dedication to Blair’s quality of life in his declining years.

Please visit www.advantageportland.com to sign Blair’s guestbook and leave memories and condolences for the family.

In lieu of flowers, those wishing to express their condolences are encouraged to contribute to the Alzheimer’s Association of Maine (www.alz.org/maine) or the Northern Light Health (www.northernlighthealth.org).