A. Knight Coolidge, 78, passed away peacefully on Nov. 13, 2023. Knight was born in Chicago, Ill. on Sept. 30, 1945. His first childhood home was a repurposed Chicago World’s Fair guard house just south of the University of Chicago where his parents, Dr. Thomas B. Coolidge (MD, Ph.D.) and Helen K. Coolidge taught and worked.
Equally competitive and charismatic, Knight was both a good student and athlete, as well as a class clown and charmer. After attending the University of Chicago Laboratory High School, he matriculated at the University of Chicago where he earned a B.A. in philosophy and, later, an MBA from U of C’s Graduate School of Business. During his school years, he played soccer, basketball, baseball, and, most importantly for his later life, learned to sail.
At a young age Knight developed a love of adventure and sailing through reading and dinghy sailing in Belmont Harbor, Chicago. Looking for greater endeavors, he set his sights on getting aboard one of the larger offshore racing boats. Finding the Aura II had recently been purchased by Chicagoan Wally Stenhouse, Knight arrived unannounced at Wally’s office asking to crew on his new boat. This surprise tactic worked, and Knight would use it for the rest of his life. Wally offered him $25 a week to keep the boat clean, and he quickly became an integral part of the crew. When Aura II left Lake Michigan for the Atlantic, Knight went with her.
Before the advent of GPS, long distance offshore ocean racing required knowledge of celestial navigation. Knight, enterprising as always, stepped forward to develop this skill. Self-studying and taking courses at Chicago’s Adler Planetarium, Knight quickly learned enough to qualify as the boat’s navigator. He burnished this skill, in practice, as he continued to race with Wally over the years. In 1971 a new boat, “Aura” was built and launched, and she went on to win the World Ocean Racing Championship, a three-year venue, with Knight as principal navigator and tactician.
Knight’s navigational proficiency made him one of yachting’s most sought-after navigators during the 1970s and ’80s. This prestige and Knight’s passion for adventure would eventually take him to all corners of the globe and into the storied lives of a myriad of people who became Knight’s friends.
As a youth, Knight summered and sailed on the coast of Maine. He relocated to Round Pond in midlife and continued as a waterman, sailing, racing, and puttering about on every style of classic boat imaginable. Knight’s home quickly became a focal point for Round Pond’s community. A multitude of Knight’s friends came to visit, reminisce, tease, and squabble for mutual enjoyment. Holding court in his characteristic baggy khakis and creased white button-down shirt, Knight enjoyed bringing as many interesting people as he could fit under one roof while handing out advice (reality based or not) and constantly stirring the pot of inspiration. Never one to sit still, Knight was often seen making his way up and down the coast sitting behind the wheel of one of his fleet of derelict old cars. Knight never let someone pass by without a smile, a wave, or an exchanging of wisecracks. In so many ways, this embodied the ethos Knight carried when it came to interacting with people and life; through good times and bad, he led with his sense of humor and compassion for others, always aiming to make those around him smile.
He is survived by his beloved son, Alton Coolidge; brother, Robert Coolidge; and his innumerable friends.
Memories and condolences may be shared with the family at directcremationofmaine.com.
