 MCNITT, ROBERT B. Age 80, of Wayland, Mass., died peacefully on July 21, 2018, at the Miriam Boyd Parlin Hospice, Wayland, MA. Rob was in failing health for the last 9 years and recently suffered a debilitating stroke. He was born in Stamford, Conn., on June 16, 1938, to Robert McNitt, a newspaper syndicator and Mary Dyer, a homemaker. After his father's untimely death, his mother remarried Arthur Agnew and moved the family to Winchester, MA. Rob was a proud graduate of Philips Exeter Academy in Exeter, NH. He, then, became a member of the Harvard College Class of 1960, affiliated with Winthrop House, and graduating with an A.B. concentrating his educational studies in Economics and Russian Literature. An ROTC student at Harvard, he served two years as a Naval Officer based in San Diego and spent most of his time transporting troops and civilian families to and from Southeast Asia. Always knowing that he would need to be his own boss, he attended Harvard Business School (MBA '64). Upon graduation, he joined his stepfather's accounting and tax practice in Burlington, MA. In 1971, Rob decided to chart his own course and established McNitt & Co., in Wellesley, MA to offer financial and tax services, mainly to medical and dental professionals. His greatest professional accomplishment was assisting and helping establish numerous small to large medical and dental groups throughout New England. He was a past member of the Tufts Medical Center Association and a past member of the Accounting Advisory Board of Bentley University. A life-long boater, Rob often said "I never saw a boat I didn't like", subsequently leading to a somewhat large collection of rare and unique wooden boats. Rob's dream was to retire from the business world and dedicate his time to the preservation and restoration of those boats. On most weekends throughout the spring, summer and fall, Rob could be found "messin' about" working on various projects in and around the Varney Islands he called home on Lake Winnipesaukee, Wolfeboro, NH. He also enjoyed sailing in the Windward and Leeward islands of the Caribbean, woodworking, and, more domestically, splitting and stacking firewood, often recruiting his tired children early Saturday and Sunday mornings throughout the year.
Known for his generosity, loyalty, candor, and especially his quick wit, Rob is survived by the following devoted family members: wife Nancy (McGaffigan) McNitt of Wayland, Mass; daughter Suzanne and son-in-law Steven Murphy and their children Alan Jeffrey and Catherine of Milton, Mass.; son Robert and daughter-in-law Genavieve and their children Lilah and Alexandra of South Natick, Mass.; half-brother Arthur "Trey" Agnew of Winchester, Mass.; half-brother Hamilton Agnew of Fort Myers, Florida. Rob lost a half-brother Jeffrey H. Agnew of Del Mar, CA.
There will be a memorial service honoring Rob on Friday, September 7th, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. at First Parish of Weston, 349 Boston Post Rd., Weston, Ma. 02493. In lieu of flowers (or boat paint), donations may be made to: The Lakes Region Conservation Trust, Care of Robert McNitt, 156 Dane Road, Center Harbor, New Hampshire 03226.
Slightly revised from the obituary published in The Boston Globe on Aug. 12, 2018
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