KNOWER, STEWART BROOKS Stewart B. Knower, 76, of Annapolis, died August 24 at Anne Arundel Medical Center. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, June 3, 1934, he spent his childhood next to the St. John's River in Jacksonville, Florida. Although he was a champion horseman in his youth, being on the water in a boat was his lifelong love. A few years after his 1956 graduation from Princeton, he and some friends took a long summer cruise on his boat, "Gemini". They took a few hand guns along and were duly arrested on gunrunning charges when they stopped at Cuba. Stewart's mug shot appeared on the front pages of newspapers across Cuba; they were released shortly afterward, but Mr. Knower sent a copy of his photo whenever Princeton wrote asking for his news.
Mr. Knower's real-estate career was spent in Loudoun County, Virginia, and later the greater Washington area. His clientele included such people as Arthur Godfrey, who became a friend, Rudolf Nureyev, and Dr. Henry Heimlich. While president of the Northern Virginia chapter of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in the 1960s, he engineered the rescue of the Alexandria Lyceum; it is now known as Alexandria's History Museum. He loved to travel, and the combination of his broad knowledge of architecture, history, and geography made trips with him a great pleasure. Stewart was a passionate advocate for environmentally sound development for more than 40 years, and was still working toward a better balance between man and earth when he died.
He is survived by his wife of 26 years, Kathleen Freeland, his stepchildren Sarah, Renny and Jennifer Babiarz and their families, his sister Brooks Riley, and his sister-in-law Rosemary Knower and her children.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to St. Anne's Episcopal Church, where he was a member of the vestry. Donation checks should be made out to St. Anne's with Mr. Knower's name on the memo line and sent to: St. Anne's Church, 199 Duke of Gloucester Street, Annapolis, MD 21401.
