MOUNT VERNON – Richard Carl Knightly, 79, passed peacefully at home in Mount Vernon on April 24, 2019.He leaves his wife, Donna (Vanderspurt) Knightly; and their two sons: Jeff and Jonathan along with Jonathan’s wife, Kasey (Hutchinson) Knightly; and their two children: James and Alice.Richard was born in Lawrence, Mass. on Sept. 6, 1939 to Raymond I. Knightly and Ruth (Sawyer) Knightly. He was educated in the Lawrence school system later attending Merrimack College in Andover and the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, graduating in 1973.After graduating from high school in 1958, he completed a solo cross-country roundtrip from the East to West coast on a Road King Cushman Motor Scooter. He traveled nearly 9,000 miles in 2 ½ months from mid-June to early September 1958, sleeping in a tent with a .22 rifle by his side.He served four years in the Navy from 1959 to 1963, achieving a rank of E5. During his service, he was stationed in Brunswick and in Rota, Spain. He served on a VP-26 Flight Crew as a Radar Operator in charge of electronic countermeasures. Richard was proud of his travels around the world visiting Africa, Spain, Iceland, Italy, and the Azores to name a few.After an honorary discharge, he became a member of the United States Postal Service and later worked for the Internal Revenue.Richard moved to Mount Vernon in September 1973. He taught at the Leeds Elementary School for a few years and later re-joined the U.S. Postal Service in Augusta where he worked for many years. In his spare time, he enjoyed computer programming and statistical analysis.Richard was known for his keen sense of humor and loved telling jokes for fun. He was a proud, dedicated, loving husband, father, and grandfather. His love and support will be greatly missed.His other family members include a brother Howard “Roy” Knightly (predeceased) and a sister Barbara (Knightly) Tarbell and her husband, Beryl of Gig Harbor, Wash. and their children David, Linda, and Karen. He leaves a cousin, Sharon (Knightly) Mills of Kittery, and his cousins in the Sawyer family: Robert, Caroline, and Warren.A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 4 at 11 a.m. at the Roberts Funeral Home, 62 Bowdoin Street, Winthrop (207-377-8696). Visitation will be from 10:30 a.m. until service time. Interment, with military honors, will follow at the Kent’s Hill Cemetery in Readfield.Memories, condolences, photos, and videos may be shared with the family on the obituary page of our website at www.familyfirstfuneralhomes.com

Copy the Story Link