Douglas Maitland Knight
June 8 1921 - January 23 2005
Douglas Maitland Knight, former president and owner of Questar Corporation, died Sunday January 23, 2005 of pneumonia and related complications. He was 83 at the time of his death.
Dr. Knight was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1921. He attended Yale University, where he received three degrees in English, culminating with his Doctorate in 1946. He taught Eighteenth Century Literature at Yale for several years before becoming president of Lawrence College in Appleton, Wisconsin in 1953.
Ten years later, in 1963, Dr. Knight became president of Duke University. He remained as President through the turblent sixties until resigning in 1969. His book Street of Dreams recalls his years at Duke through the sixties. After Duke, he worked for RCA Corporation as a vice-president of various departments until becoming president of Questar Corporation in 1976.
Dr. Knight became the owner of Questar Corporation with the passing of Marguerite Braymer, widow of Questar's founder Lawrence Braymer, in 1996. He remained as owner and president through the 80's and 90's, helping the company weather the changes in the economy. During his years at Questar he was a major influence in the development of new products such as the Long Distance Microscope, for which we would receive a number of industrial achievement awards.
In 2001, Dr. Knight sold Questar to Donald Bandurick, owner of an aerospace company in Feasterville, Pennsylvania. He remained on at the company as a consultant and he would stop in often to visit.
Dr. Knight is survived by his wife Grace and four sons Christopher, Douglas, Thomas, and Steve. He will be deeply missed by all here at Questar.
Birds of a Feather
At the 19 th Annual World Series of Birding event held by the New Jersey Audubon Society at the Cape May Bird Observatory, our team the "Questar Roadrunners" finished an awesome fourth out of 68 teams. Identifying 204 species of birds during the 24 hour marathon birding identification, the Roadrunners scouted the entire state of New Jersey using the Questar Birder. Team captain, Jeff Payne, joined by his wife Retta and team members Alan Peterson and Neal Cantell, (who flew in from Ohio as designated driver), exemplify "what an experienced eye can see with the incredible resolution and performance of the Questar Birder".
The Roadrunners, by occupation, are Veterinarians. They close their clinic for a week to scout the variety of birds that can be sited in New Jersey and especially in Cape May during migration. Not from the area, the Roadrunners utilized their skill and determination to maintain their standing with competitors Zeiss, Swarovsky, Nikon, and Swift.
The sport and art of bird watching is channeled into raising money for nature conservancy. Funds are provided by Sponsors to aid in this event, and 2002 was a record year. Amassing over $600,000 to help preserve our nations habitats for wildlife, it is fulfilling and rewarding to see people from all over the country, ages 10 to 90, work cooperatively and competitively to preserve one of nature's precious gifts.
