Eunice Caroline (Knowland) King, 25 Feb 1927 - 29 Sep 2021

KING, KNOWLAND

Posted By: Sarah Witte (email)
Date: 10/6/2021 at 14:42:31

Eunice Caroline King died of natural causes on Sept. 28, 2021. She had been a resident of Highland Ridge Senior Care in Williamsburg, Iowa. She was born to Phillip and Gretchen Knowland in Kansas City, Kan., in 1927.

The family moved to Tulsa where she attended Will Rodgers High School and Tulsa University, while she worked as a commercial artist for an apparel boutique and met Louis, her husband. They were married in Iowa City, Iowa, in 1946.

The couple lived in Clinton, Iowa, for a time and then moved to Cedar Rapids and into a large home on Grande Avenue. That home was Eunice's life's work, as she renovated and redecorated it for the better part of forty years, turning it from a derelict to a showplace. She was equally capable of repairing a plaster wall or preparing a multi-course dinner for her many friends.

Eunice became a valuable representative and spokesperson at international golf functions as she accompanied Louis to golf tournaments around the world in his capacity as executive director of the Professional Golfers' Association. She was a lifelong sports fan, interested not only in golf but professional tennis. She was an avid Hawkeyes fan dating from the time Louis was quarterback of the team when they first came to Iowa. On Sundays, she bled purple and gold with the Vikings. Eunice always counted her appearance on Antiques Road Show as one of her crowning accomplishments. She discovered a bronze and marble Chiparus statue she bought for $50 at a Paris flea market in the 1960s was valued at $100,000, thus demonstrating Eunice's talent for art and eye for value.

Eunice was preceded in death by brothers, Phillip, Frederick and Albert; sister, Judith; husband, Louis; and grandson, Bob.

She is survived by her sister, Gretchen; her daughter, Susan; and sons, Bob and Timothy. She was grandmother of five and great-grandmother of five.

Published in The Gazette on October 3, 2021.