ARTNER, MARY KNAPP, 70, passed away Thursday December 27, 2007 at her home. She was born and raised in Cleveland, OH. She attended Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI, where she met her future husband Robert O. Artner Jr. After putting their four children through college she completed her degree at Bellarmine College with a Bachelor of Science in elementary education. Mrs. Artner was a life-long educator and was beloved by her students and their parents. She was a preschool teacher and then the director of Adath Jeshurun Nursery School for over ten years. She was the author of early childhood educational tools and gave workshops for other teachers. She taught Kindergarten at Our Mother of Sorrows Elementary School for thirteen years until her retirement in 2003. Mrs. Artner has been an active volunteer. she worked as a court appointed special advocate (CASA) in Jefferson County, as a Lay Minister of the Eucharist at St. Raphael's Catholic Church visiting the sick and shut in, and has been a long time volunteer at the Clothes Closet at the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Continuing to use her special gift for working with children, she was also a reading tutor at Goldsmith Elementary School. She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert O. Artner Jr.; son, Robert O. Artner III; infant children, Timothy and Teresa; parents, Raymond and Evelyn Knapp; two brothers, Richard and Robert Knapp; and sister, Carolyn Smith. Mrs. Artner is survived and will be missed terribly by one son, Michael Artner; two daughters, Karen Bowling (Josh) and Jenny Parks (David); two brothers, Raymond Knapp and Ozzie Knapp; and six grandchildren, Chris Artner, Hannah Artner, Maggie Artner, Rebekah Artner, Kate Parks and Jessica Parks. The memorial Mass will be 10 a.m. Monday at Our Mother of Sorrows Catholic Church, 747 Harrison Avenue, Louisville, KY 40217. Memorial visitation will be 2 - 7 p.m. Sunday at Highlands Funeral Home, 3331 Taylorsville Rd. Louisville, KY 40205.
Published in The Courier-Journal from 12/29/2007 - 12/30/2007.