SOUTH THOMASTON — Joshua “Josh” Douglas Chamberlain McKnight, 58, passed away Tuesday, June 30, 2026, at Maine Medical Center in Portland, with his loving wife, Sharon, at his side and surrounded by loving family.

Josh was born March 7, 1968, in Toledo, Ohio, to Douglas ‘Doug’ and Suzanne McKnight. Educated in the Midcoast he was a graduate of Rockland High School.

Josh was well known during his early working years as the ‘Pizza Dude’ at Snappy’s Pizza, where he worked as a food delivery driver, and where he met Sharon, the love of his life. He went on to spend more than twenty years at Fisher Engineering, where he was a leading team member in quality control within his favorite engineering department.

Josh loved being outside and could often be found working on one project or another around the home he shared with Sharon. He loved fishing, working on his Audi S8s (he proudly built a 2001 Audi S8 engine himself), taking on home improvement projects, watching birds, and quietly enjoying the beautiful view from the back porch with Sharon by his side. He carefully tended a garden full of fruits and vegetables, including his most recent addition of a peach tree that bore fruit in its very first year. He also planted flowers all around their home so Sharon could enjoy them from every vantage point.

Josh was a humble, honest, hard-working, tie-dye, peace-loving man with a kind heart and a welcoming nature. He loved the natural world, from the sequoias of California to the saltwater fish in his own backyard. He had a brilliant and curious mind, a love of history, and a knack for tinkering, fixing, and figuring out just about any puzzle or problem put in front of him. Josh loved greatly, and he was loved immensely by all who had the honor and privilege of knowing him.

Josh is survived by his beloved wife of 34 years, Sharon E. McKnight (White); his parents, Douglas and Suzanne McKnight, with whom he was especially close; and his younger brother, Jason McKnight.

He was also especially close to his niece Amy Dowler and her husband Scott, and was ‘PopPop’ to their two daughters, Emma and Isabelle who was his newest fishing buddy, and brought him so much laughter and joy through their many backyard adventures. He is further survived by nieces and nephews, Laura Gould, Jennifer Gould, William Gould, Zachary Parent, Liberty McKnight, Duncan McKnight, and Harrison McKnight, along with many great-nieces and great-nephews.

He was predeceased by his beloved Gramma, Ethel McKnight.

Josh is also remembered fondly by his close friends Fran Drake, Tom Fish, and Pat Maher, and so many more friends than cannot be named here but who were all important to him; as well as his Maine Coon cats, Lemmy and Buddy (aka ‘the vicious animal’), who trailed along behind him all day and rested with him each night.

A private service will be held for family and close friends only.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Josh’s name to the Pope Memorial Humane Society, PO Box 1294, Rockland, Maine 04841, or at www.popehumane.org, or to a local food pantry.

“I see skies of blue

And clouds of white

The bright blessed day

The dark sacred night

And I think to myself 

What a wonderful world”

— Louis Armstrong