Laura M. "Kitch" Naulteus 1914-1985

NAULTEUS, TRITES, ABBOTT

Posted By: Kent Thompson (email)
Date: 4/11/2009 at 09:57:14

Laura "Kitch" Naulteus

Laura M. "Kitch" Naulteus, 70, of Mapleton, Iowa, died Wednesday, May 22, 1985, at her home after a long illness.

Mrs. Naulteus, the former Laura Trites, was born August 31, 1914, to William S. and Lucille (Abbott) Trites at Forrest Grove, Oregon. When she was a child, she and her mother moved to Hastings, Nebraska. She graduated from Hastings High School and attended Winona (Minnesota) State Teachers College and Kearney (Nebraska) State Teachers College. She married Francis Naulteus August 20, 1935, at Omaha, Nebraska. They made their home in Cherokee, Iowa, where they managed and operated the Arrow Theatre. She also worked for the Cherokee Daily Times as Society Editor. They moved to Mapleton, Iowa, in 1946, where they owned and operated the Maple Theatre for several years. She served as Mapleton City Clerk for twenty-two years, retiring in 1976. She was the first woman to serve on the city council, serving for four years.

Mrs. Naulteus was a member of the Iowa Municipal Finance Officers Association for several years, member and past director of Willow Vale Golf Club, secretary of Maple Valley Housing Board, past president and past secretary of P.E.O., past member of Legion Auxiliary, the Mapleton Club, and Mapleton Improvement Council. She was national president of Wa-Tan-Ye (Young Business Women’s and Professional Club). [Source: July-August 1985 edition of the "Wa-Tan-Yan", the newsletter of the Wa-Tan-Ye womens' service club]