Esther JoAnn "Jody" (Riser) Knudsen (2016)

BOSS, KNUDSEN, MULLIN, RADAKOVICH

Posted By: Mary Welty Hart
Date: 4/29/2016 at 16:28:40

Winterset Madisonian
Winterset, Iowa
Wednesday, April 27, 2016

ESTHER "JODY" KNUDSEN, Esther Park, Colorado

Esther JoAnn “Jody” Knudsen (nee Riser) was born on Sept. 21, 1938, in Earlham, Iowa, to Helen Radakovich Riser and Wilbur Thomas Riser.

Jody attended school in Winterset, and graduated from Winterset High School in 1956. Jody attended Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Family and Consumer Sciences in 1961. While attending Iowa State she was involved with Cardinal Guild (served on the Supreme Court) and PanHellenic Council. She was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority. Jody was inducted to the Omicron Nu Honor Society and the Phi Upsilon Honor Society (served as an officer). Jody was tapped to be a member of Mortar Board during her senior year.

During her time at Iowa State, Jody met her future husband, John. After college graduation, Jody worked in Minneapolis, Minn., as an elementary school teacher. On Dec. 29, 1962, she married John Waldemar Knudsen at the First Methodist Church in Winterset. They are the parents of Michael Waldemar, Eric John and three deceased sons, (twins) Andrew Riser and Stephan Jay, and Jeffrey Thomas. They lived in eight locations, Omaha, Neb., Naperville, Ill., Waukesha, Wisc., Ballwin, Mo., Littleton, Colo., Lompoc, Calif., Green Valley, Calif., and Estes Park, Colo.

Jody was baptized at the First United Methodist Church of Winterset. She has been a member of Southminster Presbyterian Church in Waukesha, Wisc., St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church in Ballwin, Mo., and was currently a member of Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in Estes Park, Colo. Jody was extremely active in her congregation and often played the piano at church services.

Jody was an avid tennis player and competed on many teams throughout the years including winning a medal at the Rocky Mountain Senior Games. Jody was a ranked Colorado player in women’s doubles and in mixed doubles for years. She has served on the Colorado Tennis Association Board of Directors and was named Volunteer of the Year multiple times. The Volunteer of the Year award for the USTA Intermountain Section Colorado District award now bears the name Jody Riser Knudsen. In 1993, Jody and her husband John established a tennis scholarship fund to benefit junior players in Parks & Recreation programs. Her dedication to the Colorado Tennis Association was long-standing and she stopped volunteering/working at tennis tournaments in 2015.

Jody was an active member of Kappa Alpha Theta Alumni throughout her life. She belonged to the P.E.O. in Colorado, Chapter IY. Jody served Iowa State as a planning member for her 50th class reunion in 2011. She also served proudly as a western advisor to interview applicants interested in ISU.

Jody was deeply committed to her family and divided her time between her homes in Estes Park, Colo., and Winterset. She was a strong, independent woman who took great joy in her travels visiting family and friends. She enjoyed spending time with her family and grandchildren, playing cards and keeping in close contact with her friends and family. Jody showed her love through so many ways including regularly texting her grandchildren, not expecting a response just to let them know she was thinking of them.

Jody passed unexpectedly but peacefully on April 21, 2016, while traveling between Iowa and Colorado. Jody was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, John; and three infant sons, (twins) Andrew, Stephan, and Jeffrey. Jody is survived by her sons, Mike (Nancy) of Raleigh, NC, Eric (Cathy) Knudsen of Leawood, Kan.; sister, Judy (Ried) Mullin of Franklin, Tenn.; niece, Kim Mullin (Greg Boss); nephew, Chad Mullin and family of Franklin, Tenn.; brother-in-law Richard and sister-in-law, Annette of Pueblo, Colo.; nephew Kyler (Laura) Knudsen and family of Ft. Collins, Colo.; and many numerous cousins. Jody has six grandchildren: Spencer, Ellie and Wolt Knudsen of Raleigh, NC, and Haley, Tate and Mac Knudsen of Leawood, Kan.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held at the Mount Calvary Lutheran Church, in Estes Park, Colo., on May 28, 2016. A Celebration of Life Service is being planned for this summer at the First United Methodist Church in Winterset, to be followed by a private family interment at Earlham Cemetery in Earlham. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations may be directed to the Colorado Tennis Association Knudsen Scholarship Fund, Estes Park Senior Center, or Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Disaster Relief Fund in memory of Jody Riser Knudsen.

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