FISHKILL, N.Y./MIDDLEBURY, Vt. ­— Arthur John Knippler, a resident of Dutchess County for 55 years and formerly of Flatbush, Brooklyn, died on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2019, at UVM Medical Center in Burlington, Vt., with his loving family by his side. He was 86.
Son of the late Arthur A. and Anna M. Bussenschutt Knippler, Arthur was born in Brooklyn on Dec. 2, 1933. He graduated from Erasmus Hall High School. He served in the U.S. Army from 1955-1957 under the 24 ENGR CO in Stuttgart/Kornwestheim, Germany. He went to college first at SUNY Agricultural & Technical Institute at Farmingdale, Farmingdale, N.Y., prior to joining the army. After his service in the army, he returned to complete a degree in Mechanical Engineering from City College in Brooklyn, N.Y. At the start of his engineering career, he worked briefly for the United Fruit Company in Nova Scotia, Canada. He then worked the balance of his career for IBM, first in Endicott, N.Y., and later in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
On Nov. 14, 1964, he married Helen A. Fairbrother at St. Jerome’s Roman Catholic Church in Brooklyn. Following their marriage, they relocated to Poughkeepsie, where they remained until moving to Fishkill, N.Y. in 2014. In 2019, a few years following Helen’s passing, Arthur moved to Middlebury, Vt., to be closer to family.
Arthur was involved in various community activities, particularly when his children were young. He loved spending time in Newport, R.I., where he and Helen visited regularly for the past 40 years. He also enjoyed sailing on the Hudson River with his family, and he and his wife were life members of Chelsea Yacht Club in Chelsea, N.Y. After retirement he spent several years engaged in offshore delivery of sailboats to various ports on the East Coast of the U.S. and to Bermuda. He was also fond of repairing mechanical clocks and did so for many years.
Arthur is survived by his two sons; Arthur C. Knippler and his wife Bernadette of Hanover, N.H., and Robert J. Knippler and his wife Katherine of Middlebury, Vt.; his granddaughter Katie Knippler of Hanover, N.H.; his granddaughter Eleanor Knippler of Middlebury, Vt.; his step-grandson, David Kloepfer of Jacksonville, Fla.; and many other loving relatives and friends. A son, Russell P. Knippler, predeceased Arthur.
A graveside interment service will be held at 1 p.m. on Dec. 30, 2019, for immediate family at the Gerald B. H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery, 200 Duell Road, Schuylerville, N.Y. A celebration of life gathering will be held in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., during the summer of 2020 (location to be determined) so that family and friends may gather to remember and celebrate Arthur’s life.◊