Obituary of Martha Knutson

Martha Knutson age 83 of Longville, MN died Dec. 1, 2014. She is survived by her husband, Robert; son, Kent, his wife, Deb and their son, Rob; daughter, Kimary Knutson, her sons Nate Virnig and John Kelly and her daughter Kristin McGrath and her children William and Libby. She was preceded in death by her granddaughter, Kathyrn Knutson. Martha was born Oct. 20, 1931 in Eagle Grove, Iowa to Earl J. McGrath and Blanche Smith McGrath. She graduated from Eagle Grove High School and attended Eagle Grove Community College. Martha married Robert D. Knutson in June of 1950. She was employed as a bookkeeper at the Coca Cola Bottling Co., in Decorah, Iowa until 1952 when her husband graduated from Luther College. They lived in Viola WI, Delavan MN, Canby MN and New Ulm MN. In New Ulm she was active in Brown County Foster Parenting and Home Health Service. She was a paraprofessional with Head Start children involved in speech therapy and worked 7 years with New Ulm Schools program for children with autistism. While in New Ulm she and the late Gertrude Fodness were co-founders of the New Ulm Clothing Depot, a non-profit organization serving the community. Upon her husbands retirement from teaching they moved to Girl Lake, Longville MN where she was involved for five years with mainstreaming children with individual needs in the Remer and Longville schools. She was an advocate for the rights of children to develop to the highest level of their potential. She enjoyed books, music, gardening and most of all, her family. A memorial service is being held Dec. 12, 2014 at 2:00 pm at the Minneapolis Veterans Home, 5101 Minnehaha Ave S, Mpls. where she has lovingly been cared for.