Mike Sunnafrank wrote on FACEBOOK...

For my Napa friends who knew Richard Knowlton, he passed peacefully in his sleep on February 7 after many years of poor health. He was one of the smartest and sarcastically witty people I have ever known. And that laugh, the only person I have ever heard actually chuckle. A good man, a  good friend, a tragicomedy come to life. Memories of a very well-spent misspent youth are rising up in me this day. Until that time, my friend.