AMHERST, Barbara L. Knowles, 67, of Amherst, died June 26, 2014, with family and friends by her side. She was born on February 22, 1947 in Plymouth, MA, the only child of Lillian H. Knowles and late William S. Knowles, Jr.

In her youth, she and best friend Sandy Lodi Alston founded the Verloren Yacht Club in Plymouth. Barbara was a member of the Plymouth Antiquarian Society. She received a BA from Boston University and an MA from the University of Chicago, where she studied ancient languages and archaeology, and helped create the first Hittite-to-English dictionary. She traveled throughout Greece and Turkey in pursuit of her studies.

Barbara moved to Amherst in 1978. In 1987 she opened Le Boudoir with her friend, the late Dorothy Grannis. She contributed to the Valley Light Opera and made costumes for the Amherst High School musical productions. She managed the town’s Independence Day fireworks celebration in 1991. She spent many happy weekends buying and selling antiques with her dearest friend, Melinda McIntosh.

Barbara is survived by her mother, Lillian H. Knowles of Plymouth; her aunt, Barbara H. Brenner of Panama City, FL; her uncle, John E. Holmes of Plymouth; her husband, Mitchell B. Gervickas of Amherst; her son, James A. Rosen of San Carlos, CA; several cousins; and many friends.

Memorial donations may be made to the ASPCA or the Heifer Project. A service will be held at Douglass Funeral Service later this summer. Obituary and memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com.

Service details, Social networking, Memorial Guestbook and Slideshow are available here.