A. Sidney Knowles, Jr. died peacefully at home on April 24, 2018, with his family beside him. Known universally by his nickname, Kit, given to him by his mother, he was born in Savannah, Ga., on December 11, 1926, to A. Sidney Knowles and Kitty Crupper Knowles of Falls Church, Virginia. Despite his long heritage as a Virginian, Kit grew up in New York City where his father had taken a job on Wall Street when Kit was two years old. While never forgetting his Virginia roots, Kit thought of himself as a child of Manhattan. Everything about the city stimulated him: the variety of people, the cinema, art, classical music, and most particularly the exciting sounds of jazz. It was the 1930s, and those years nurtured Kit’s cultural and intellectual development. After attending New York city schools, Kit entered The Lawrenceville School from which he graduated with its highest distinction of “Head Boy.” His years at Lawrenceville influenced by the Masters of the school, profoundly shaped his ideal of what an American scholar should be. Shortly after his graduation, Kit joined the US Army for the duration of the war.
At the end of the war, Kit entered the University of Virginia, majoring in English literature. At Virginia, Kit joined Kappa Sigma Fraternity, was admitted to the honor society of Omicron Delta Kappa, and, as a source of deepest pride, to the Raven Society. His years at Virginia confirmed him as a Jeffersonian man of the enlightenment, a philosophy that guided him the rest of his life. Upon graduation, Kit continued at Virginia where he received his Master’s Degree in English Literature. Based on both his profound experiences at Lawrenceville and instructing recruits in basic training during the War, Kit determined to pursue a career in teaching. His first professorial post was as Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. In 1955, Kit was invited to join the English faculty at North Carolina State University.
At State, Kit quickly developed a reputation for inspired teaching, furthering the advancement of the humanities, participation in faculty activities, and encouraging cultural opportunities for students, faculty, and community members. He served on the Faculty Senate for many years and as its President. His comprehensive knowledge of classical music led to his service with Henry Bowers and Banks Talley on the board of the Friends of the College, dedicated to bringing national orchestras, ballets, and operas to Reynolds Coliseum for performances hugely popular with the State community and the community at large. He was one of the first faculty members to be named an Alumni Distinguished Professor and one of the youngest faculty members to be named full professor. He led generations of undergraduates and graduate students to a wider and deeper knowledge of American culture and literature.
His respect for and dedication to literature, particularly 20th Century British and American poetry, novels, and drama, was an inspiration for his students. He developed a reputation for his sophisticated, humane, scholarly lectures that unified the interrelations among literature, music, and art. His wit, kindness, and generosity provided years of pleasure to students and colleagues alike. With his second wife, Alice, Kit regularly gave enormously popular lectures and seminars at Reynolda House Museum of Art in Winston-Salem. In the Agricultural Extension classes offered by NC State, Kit traveled throughout the state offering courses for teachers at local libraries, inspiring still more teachers to extend their own knowledge of literature. Kit formally retired from State in the early 1990’s but continued to teach regularly until he was 81. His career at State spanned nearly 55 years.
For over forty years, Kit and Alice spent their summers in their beloved home in Woods Hole, Ma. Where dozens of family members and friends visited regularly over the years. There, they built their beautiful gardens and Kit dug rocks with which he built the rambling stone walls of New England that he so loved. In Woods Hole, he served on the boards of the Associates of the Marine Biological Laboratory and the Children’s School of Science.
He is survived by his wife of 41 years Alice Seymour Knowles and his children with his first wife Sarah Miller Knowles: Christopher Cawood Knowles, Margaret Knowles Albertson, and Peter Ingraham Knowles (Kay) and grandchildren, David Scott Albertson (Cassie), and Jennifer Knowles Holleman (Jesse), and great-grandchild Sarah Jean Holleman. Alice’s brother William Andrew Seymour (Lynne), her sister Ann Elizabeth Seymour, and Andy and Lynne’s children David Matthew Seymour and Keith Thomas Seymour were devoted to Kit.
A genuine scholar, a dedicated and beloved teacher, a true friend, and above all a gentleman in the most meaningful and literal sense of the word, Kit was an inspiration to countless people and will be missed and remembered by all of them forever.
The family would like to offer their deepest thanks to Raleigh Medical Group, Aware Senior Care and Heartland Hospice, for their faithful care and attention.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 28, 2018 at 11:00 am at Christ Episcopal Church, 120 East Edenton St. Raleigh. The family will receive friends following the service in the church parish hall.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to NCSU Friends of the Library, Campus Box 7111, Raleigh, NC 27695.
Arrangements by Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 300 Saint Mary's St., Raleigh, NC.
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