Westborough – Thorleif Knutrud, 86, of The Willows in Westborough, died Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014 at Saint Vincent's hospital in Worcester following a short illness.
Born Nov. 11, 1927 in Stabekk, Norway, Thor was the sixth and youngest child of Thorleif and Margit (Brudal) Knutrud. Thor graduated from Stabekk Høiere Almenskole in 1947.
After serving as a radar specialist in the Norwegian Air Force for three years and attending the Schous Technical School in Oslo, he traveled to Cambridge to attend MIT in 1952.? Shortly after arriving in Cambridge, he was followed there by his then-fiancé Lister (Bugge), where they were married Nov. 29, 1952. Thor received his Master's degree in electrical engineering from MIT in 1959.
Thor and Lister moved to Sudbury in 1960, where they lived happily together raising their two sons and enjoying friends and community for 50 years. Together they traveled frequently back to Norway to visit family, enjoyed the outdoors, and entertained many close friends often.
Thor worked for GTE Sylvania and RCA until 1977, and then began consulting, eventually starting his own consulting business. He was a founding partner of Interactive Video Systems (IVS) in Concord, retiring in 1997.
Thor and Lister moved to the Willows of Westborough in 2009, and Lister passed away that same year after 57 years of happy marriage. Continuing to be active while at the Willows, Thor was blessed with the friendship and love of his dear friend and companion Mary Coogan, and, together, they led the walking club, traveled, and enjoyed time with both family and the close community at the Willows. Most recently, Thor was president of the Willows Residents Association.
Thor was predeceased by his wife, Lister (Laura) Knutrud, and siblings Ola, Leif, Tullik, and Lars of Norway, and sister Kaja of Maryland. He is survived by his two sons, Petter M. Knutrud and his wife, Kristin Cooper Knutrud, of Westborough and Paul C. Knutrud and his wife, Oxana Knutrud, of Stow; four grandchildren, Alexander and Nils Knutrud of Westborough, Lars Erik Graesdal-Knutrud of Trondheim, Norway, and Heidi Graesdal-Knutrud of Stow, as well as his dear friend, Mary Coogan of the Willows in Westborough. He also leaves many nieces and nephews here and in Norway to whom he remained close.
A memorial service will be held Monday, Feb. 10, at 11 a.m., at the Congregational Church of Westborough on West Main Street. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Rand-Harper-Pickering Westborough Funeral Home.
