Ruth Elizabeth Knutson, Cold Spring Harbor mainstay, dies

Ruth Elizabeth Knutson was a well-known cornerstone of the Cold Spring Harbor community. She made time for everyone and, if you asked around, people would say that they were lucky to have known such an extraordinary, kind and caring woman.

"She was a super wife and mom. My mother's house was always full of children," said Robert Knutson, of Huntington, Ruth's eldest son and an investment banker. "My mother raised us with love; she instilled that in all of us."

Ruth was born on Aug. 30, 1926, and raised in a Brooklyn brownstone with her two older sisters, Doris and Virginia. She died on April 16 at age 95.

In the mid-1930s, Ruth and her family spent summers at beaches in Huntington. She had an 11-foot rowboat that she used to fish in Huntington Bay. Little did she know what an enormous role boating would play in her life, her son said.

She met her husband, Arthur Knutson, a Norwegian immigrant boat builder, when she was 13, and he 15, at Knutson's Shipyard in Huntington, when her boat motor needed repair. They were married on March 25, 1944. Together, the Knutsons created and raised 11 children and built a world-renowned yachting dynasty that built boats for leisure and military purposes.         

"Dad's career morphed into being a significant waterfront and marina real estate developer who revolutionized Huntington Harbor and developed Christiansted, St. Croix Harbor, building one of the largest hauling marinas in the U.S. Virgin Islands," said Robert Knutson. "Gardening, fishing, clamming, everything I know, my mother taught me because my father worked," he said.

Arthur Knutson died in November 1993.

Even with her movie star looks and charm, Ruth was a nonstop worker who was very loyal to her husband, her son said. He recalled his father working long days and coming home to a clean and loving home — the famous East Point Estate on Huntington Harbor — held together by Ruth.

Ruth Knutson was rooted in her faith, her son said. Although she had been active in the Central Presbyterian Church in Huntington village in the 1950s and '60s, she transferred the Knutson family's religious focus to St. John's Episcopal Church in Cold Spring Harbor in 1970. The large family then moved into and restored a large cottage on the water in Cold Spring Harbor, where they lived until 1976.

"Mom was a legend in Cold Spring Harbor. She made time for everyone, and many would go to her for advice or just to talk," said her son. "She was certainly my best friend."

In 1976, the Knutsons moved to Resvik, Norway, where they stayed for 10 years. Ruth quickly picked up Norwegian and made friends with everyone in the neighborhood. The Knutsons spent their winters in St. Croix.

"Mom loved children, and she loved to travel — I took her all through China when she was 84 years old. She created a massive family legacy, and we will remember our angel of love and the example she left for us," said Robert Knutson. "Provide love and kindness to everyone and the Lord will reward you."

Knutson is survived by nine of her 11 children,  more than 30 grandchildren, and many great-grandchildren. A service was held April 27 at St. John's Episcopal Church.