Martha Knudsen
1927 - 2020
Martha Knudsen, 93, died Sunday,
(September 20, 2020) in Newton. She was born February 19, 1927. She
was the adopted daughter of Rex Moody, Newton, KS. She spent most of
her childhood years with her foster family, Jacob & Marie Dester
of Newton.
Martha graduated from Moundridge High
School and went on to Northwestern University in Chicago, where she
graduated as a Dental Hygienist. She worked 40 years in dental
offices in Memphis, Tennessee; Wichita and Newton, Kansas (including
the offices of Dr. Sheets, Dr. Gregg and Dr. Bette) before retiring
in 1986. She married Ivan Knudsen on September 1, 1956; he survives
of the home. After retiring, Martha, who was a self-taught artist,
found her passion for drawing, her specialty being pen and ink. She
started with barns and windmills because they had straight lines and
very little shading. Over the next couple years, she developed more
of an architectural style of drawing. This led to a series of Kansas
things: stone houses; schoolhouses; courthouses; churches; windmills
and three sets of barn notes. She became known as the Kansas Barn
Lady. In 1991 she published her first Kansas Barn Calendar. She
started with four different barns from different counties and then
set out to find eight more barns from an additional eight counties.
She ended up publishing 20 annual calendars, every barn different.
She developed and published 4 Kansas Barn Book with barns from her
calendars and as many histories as she could find. Barns from every
county in Kansas were represented in her books. Martha was featured
as one of "Hatteberg's People" in 1993 and was included in
his book, "More Kansas People". In addition to her drawing,
she enjoyed spending time with her family, living on the farm and
going to WSU basketball games for 61 years.
She was preceded in death by her
father, step-mother, Kathleen Karlowski, foster parents and brothers,
Robert Moody, Michael Moody, Jack Moody and foster sister Betty
Boldenow.
Survivors include husband, Ivan
Knudsen, daughter Dina and husband Stewart Aaby, Wichita, KS;
daughter Martie and husband Robert TenEyck, Newton, KS;
granddaughters Kara Aaby and Jessica Aaby, Wichita, KS; sister-in-law
Alice Owen, Exira, IA; brother-in-law, Richard Anderson, Bennington,
NE; cousins: Connie Graber, Moundridge, KS; and Kathryn Stucky,
Newton, KS; Velma Percoco, Jack Brubacher, Yvonne Dalke; nieces:
Marlene Skinner, Newton, KS; Dyann Koehn, Aberdeen, MS; Cindy
Peterson, Mt. Pleasant, TX; Stephanie Moody, Wichita, KS; Tamara
Stier, Bennington, NE; Melissa Willaman, Omaha, NE; nephews: JB
Boldenow; Wichita, KS, Jim Boldenow, Newton, KS; Beau Moody,
Lawrence, KS; Brook Moody, Lawrence, KS; Ron Owen, Audubon, IA; Rich
Anderson, Bellevue, NE; James Barnes, Omaha, NE; and Art Ball, Jr.,
Adel, IA; and special friends Pat and Janis Marean, Peabody, KS.
A memorial service is planned for
Saturday, October 3, 2020; 10:30 am at the First Presbyterian Church,
900 Columbus Ave., Newton, KS. Memorials in lieu of flowers suggested
to Kansas Barn Alliance or Carriage Factory Art Gallery. Memorials
may be sent to Peterson Funeral Home, 215 N. Main, Newton, KS 67114.
