Robert Nelson "Bob" McKnight

Robert "Bob" Nelson McKnight - Andover, MA

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Robert Nelson McKnight. Robert (Bob) was born in Bradford, Pennsylvania on January 6, 1950 and he left us on September 7, 2025. He is survived by his adoring children, Leah Elizabeth McKnight and Eric George McKnight.

From childhood, Bob had a passion for all things engineering. In high school he went to the national science fair for building a computer that could do basic calculations. He attended Carnegie Mellon University for undergrad, where studied Electrical Engineering and was the president of his fraternity. He then went on to Stanford University for his masters degree in Electrical Engineering. He graduated with honors from both schools.

After finishing school, he paved a very successful career in Electrical Engineering. This career began at Hewlett Packard, where he developed a hard drive innovation that is still used in most computers today.

After several years at Hewlett Packard, Bob moved from California to a beautiful lakeside house in Massachusetts and proudly started his own impactful consulting company, ATI (Andover Technology, Incorporated) in 1989. He was so well known in the optical electronics industry that large companies with in-house Electrical Engineering departments would contact him for his expertise. His business was a huge success and concluded with his retirement in 2022.

Bob's greatest achievement was being an incredible father to his two children. He provided them with constant love and support, a deeply caring presence, and countless sweet surprises. If anything was ever broken - a toy, a necklace, a heart - he would come to the rescue and fix it. He encouraged Eric and Leah to pursue their passions and do what made them happy; he prioritized their happiness above all else.

He used his brilliant creative mind to enrich the life of his family. He kept his family warm by building special fans to help with heat circulation in the winter. He brought joy to his kids by building them a giant backyard swing, an epic zip line and homemade stilts. Whenever a science fair project came up, he would lead the charge to help make them extra impressive.

His love extended to his backyard creatures as well; he built a deluxe bird feeder to feed all the forest birds, squirrels and chipmunks. He loved watching them from his kitchen window. He had a special relationship with a few lucky squirrels, including a particularly pudgy Gandalf the Gray, who would come by to eat his leftover pizza crusts.

One huge source of enjoyment for Bob was the Father-Daughter dances he and Leah performed with the Andover Ballet Company. Bob always put in extra hours on his own to memorize the routine, and together, Bob and Leah had a blast practicing their dance moves. They performed at dance recitals and on Andover Day in the middle of Main Street! They had one last sweet dance together at Leah's wedding in 2024.

Each year Bob helped Eric with his Boy Scouts "Soapbox Derby" car. They spent hours tuning Eric's cars to be as fast and aerodynamic as possible with sizing, weights, and shape. Rain or shine, Bob attended every one of Eric's baseball and lacrosse games. He always encouraged and cheered on both of his kids from the sidelines.

In addition to pouring love into his kids, Bob also cared for many cats. He was a huge cat lover and took excellent care of over 10 cats throughout his life. He had a wonderful sense of humor, and would often share funny cat comics with his family.

Additional survivors are his two siblings, Judy Fettman and Roy McKnight; his ex-wife and friend Helen Degon, and Helen's husband Steve Degon. Bob was predeceased by his Loving mother Lois McKnight and father George McKnight.

Calling hours are Thursday, September 11, 2025 from 10 - 11:30 AM at Dewhirst Boles Funeral Home, 80 Broadway, Methuen, MA 01844. A funeral service will follow the calling hours at the funeral home at 11:30 AM. Burial will follow the funeral service in Spring Grove Cemetery, 124 Abbot Street, Andover, MA 01810.

Please visit www.dewhirstbolesfuneral.com for directions, or to sign the online guest book.