NORTHAMPTON, MA – Rodney Knaul Kunath was born in Boston, MA on August 20, 1941, and began his childhood in Needham Heights. Rodney became deaf at eighteen months of age due to a severe ear infection, being unable to be treated with penicillin due to World War II and a shortage of the drug. His mother and a visiting teacher of the deaf homeschooled Rodney until 1946, when at the age of five, he entered Clarke School for the Deaf in Northampton, MA. Rodney remained at Clarke until his graduation in 1958. While at Clarke, Rodney was a Boy Scout and Eagle Scout, attending Camp Chesterfield for several years. He organized the “Theodore Roosevelt Hiking Club” for hiking around in Northampton and Florence and swimming on the Mill River in Bay State Village. As an avid Red Sox fan, Rodney loved his annual Clarke School trips to see the Red Sox play at Fenway Park, not knowing he would one day meet Ted Williams with his dad at a golf course in Dedham !
Upon graduating from Clarke, Rodney returned to his hometown of Needham and entered Needham High School, graduating in 1962 and then attending Bentley College of Accounting. Rodney was very close to his family, working in the family business at Mansbrooke Rainwear Company in Needham Heights for ten years as a young man. In Needham, he also assisted Needham police with training on how to use their new teletype (TTY) machines for the deaf. He also worked as a computer operator and supervisor for 21 years at Honeywell information Systems in Newton and Waltham before moving back to Northampton. Rodney then worked thirty years at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in the Environmental and Patient Billing Systems Department where he was well-loved and made many good friends. He served on the hospital’s recreation committee while he was employed with Cooley Dickinson. Rodney also did maintenance jobs at Northampton Wire Company and then at Rockridge retirement facility from 1993 to 2006.
Rodney was a devoted alumnus of Clarke School for the Deaf, where he was a volunteer and a member of the Clarke School Alumni Association from 1958 to his passing. He served as Director over 25 years and President for 5 years. Rodney loved Clarke School and was so proud to be considered Clarke’s “historian”, where he maintained an office safeguarding historical papers, photos, and other archives. He was a writer and edited The Clarke School Alumni Bulletin newsletters. In 1992, he was instrumental in organizing the first Clarke School Alumni parade to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Clarke School and organized the first Clarke School float that appeared in Northampton’s 350th anniversary parade in 2004. He was also instrumental in the 2017 re-dedication of the first Clarke School campus rock on Gothic Street, in observance of the school’s 150th anniversary.
Rodney was an avid traveler. His adventures took him on canoe trips in northern Maine, climbing Mount Katahdin and canoeing on the Allagash River with the St. Croix Voyageurs. He went on fishing and camping trips in Vergennes, Vermont and Four Forks in Maine. He also went on a trip on a Dutch freight and passenger ship to Central American via the Panama Canal, to pick up 45,000 bunches of bananas from Ecuador, commandeering the huge Dutch banana freight and passenger SS Carrillo. Due to this adventurous experience with the ship, he tried to join the US Navy, but was rejected due to his hearing disability, a great disappointment. He went on three trips to Germany and Austria, renting a car and driving over 2,500 miles. He experienced the Oktoberfest in Munich and visited various castles including Reifenstein Castle, in which his relatives on the maternal side used to live before immigrating to the US after the Revolution of 1848.
He owned several cars over the years, driving many of them in parades around the state. He had a 1934 Chevy Master sedan, 1941 Ford V8, 1947 Northampton fire truck and “Reddy” the 1954 Chevy Bel Air convertible. He enjoyed entering the vehicles in numerous parades such as the Holyoke St. Patrick’s parade and South Boston’s St. Patrick’s parade, Memorial Day parades in Florence, 4th of July parades in Needham and Amherst, the annual Calvin Coolidge Memorial, the first Clarke School Alumni parade in 1992, the 350th anniversary of the City parade and the Veterans Day and Polish Heritage Day parades in Northampton. Rodney was a founding member of the Friends of the Home Origination for the Deaf, an organization that provided entertainment for Elders living in the New England Home for the Deaf in Danvers. He served as President from 1976 to 1982.
Wherever Rodney was living, he became involved in his community. He was the treasurer of the Fellowship Club at Christ Episcopal Church in Needham Heights, a member of Needham Historical Society, a 32-degree Mason and Shriner for 20 years in Needham and Boston and a member of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church for the Deaf in Brookline from 1964 to 1985. He was also a member of the German club in Walpole and hosted the captain and two sailors from the German Tall Ships to stay overnight at his Needham house in 1983. They in turn invited Rodney to a tour of the ship followed by a traditional German dinner of sauerkraut, cabbage and sauerbraten at the Captain’s table.
Rodney was very involved in the community of Northampton where he lived for many years. His civic involvements were many. He was a proud member of the Northampton Elks #997, the Northampton Lions Club where he was a Director and received several awards including the Melvin Jones Fellow in 2011 and the Val Zewski Fellowship Award in 2010. He was a member of the Eagles Club, the Bay State Association, Northampton St. Patrick’s Association and one of the Directors of Cooley Dickinson Hospital’s Recreation Committee in planning family picnics and Christmas parties. He was member of Northampton’s Historical Society, the Historical Commission, and the Northampton Disability Commission. Rodney was a member of the Civil War Trust, Vintage Chevrolet Club of American and a member of the Calvin Coolidge Foundation at Plymouth Notch, VT.
An avid fan of Grace and Calvin Coolidge, he made many trips to historic Coolidge Homestead in Plymouth Notch, VT where he and the Clarke School pupils, staff and his friends met Calvin and Grace’s son, John and his wife Florence Coolidge. He had an extensive library of vintage Civil War books, including the memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant. He received several awards such as the Clarke School Alumni Hall of Fame, James Brennan Award from the Northampton St Patrick’s Association, the Melvin Jones Fellows, Northampton Lions Val Zewski Fellowship and the President’s Appreciation awards from the Northampton Lions Club, Employee of The Month awards from Cooley Dickinson Hospital, and a photography award from the Northampton Historical Committee.
At Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, he was a member of the Northampton Disability Committee, where he spearheaded getting new teletype (TTY) machines for deaf patients, getting closed captioning on televisions and ensuring deaf employees and patients had interpreters. He was also very involved in Northampton politics and ran for Ward 4 City Council in 1991 and 1995, after helping his deaf friend Kevin Nolan become the first deaf city councilor in Northampton in 1985. He also helped the Northampton police department’s fundraising for Police Association Programs. He was a member of the Northampton Historical Committee, where he was instrumental in the restoration of the turrets on top of the 1849 Northampton City Hall.
Rodney lived a rich and eventful life with many friends. He had numerous interests and hobbies including collecting coins and stamps, German Beer Steins, antique milk and soda bottles, Stere-O-scopes and vintage postcards. He was a Civil War buff with an extensive library and made three trips to Gettysburg. Rodney spent many hours taking photographs and scrapbooking. He had a memorable collection of Calvin and Grace Coolidge’s press photos. He also visited the Antietam Battlefield, Harpers Ferry, Ford Theater and the Peterson House, where President Abraham Lincoln passed away after being assassinated in 1865.
Northampton was a special place to Rodney. After graduating from Clarke School in 1958 and missing his beloved city so much, he made frequent trips back to visit his friends before finally moving back in 1985. Rodney was comfortable to be deaf, which enabled him to help others in need. He always extended special thanks to his mother and Clarke School for teaching him speech and lip reading that enabled him to enter the” Hearing World!”
Rodney is predeceased by his parents, Lillian Reifenstein Kunath and Otto Knaul Kunath, and his former wife Helaine Lefort with whom he remained friends until her death in 2017. He leaves his beloved sister Pamela Weisman-Hoagland, her husband, Peter, and his nephews Loren Weisman and Roger Weisman, his grandniece Olivia Weisman and their families and two godsons, James F. Dunton Ill and Edward T. Corbett, Jr.
Rodney will be sorely missed by his many friends who so enjoyed his company! He was a special person who took his adversities and turned them into opportunities for a lifetime, embracing everyone and everything as a new and wonderful part of his world and theirs.
Calling hours at AHEARN FUNERAL HOME, 783 Bridge Road, Northampton will be Monday, April 27, 2026, from 4:00 to 7:00 P.M. Family and Friends will gather directly at Bridge Street Cemetery, Northampton for a Graveside Service on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at 11:00 A.M. with Pastor Sarah Buteux, Officiant. Rodney would appreciate that any donations be made to the New England Homes for the Deaf, c/o Development Office, 154-160 Water Street, Danvers, MA 01923-3794
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