Kim
Knauer
Kim Elaine Knauer,
45, of Springfield, formerly of Mount Pulaski, died Thursday, Jan.
2, 2003, at 12:01 p.m. at St. John's Hospital in Springfield.
Visitation will be
from 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Fricke-Calvert-Schrader Funeral Home in
Mount Pulaski.
Her funeral will be
at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, Mount
Pulaski, with Father Patrick DeMeulemeester officiating.
Burial will be in
Mount Pulaski Cemetery.
Miss Knauer was
manager of public affairs and communications for the Illinois State
Board of Education.
She
was born May 18, 1957, in Decatur to Darrell and Mary Wachter Knauer.
Surviving Miss Wachter are her parents, of Mount Pulaski; one
sister, Annette (and Scott) Detwiler of Bloomington; one brother,
Kevin (and Monica) Knauer of Mount Pulaski; two nephews, Justin and
Shawn Knauer of Mount Pulaski; and numerous aunts, uncles and
cousins.
She
was preceded in death by her maternal and paternal grandparents.
She
attended Illinois State University for one year and in 1979
completed her bachelor's degree in journalism at the
Urbana-Champaign campus of the University of Illinois. While at UIUC
she was the editor of the Illio yearbook, which won the 1980
Printers Industry of America Award for graphic design. She also
served as a reporter for the Daily Illini, was named to the dean's
list in the College of Communications and was a residence hall
adviser. She was recognized by the Student Alumni Association and
the University of Illinois Alumni Association as one of the “top 100
seniors for unique contributions and outstanding leadership
qualities in extracurricular activities.”
She
earned a master's degree in 1980 in the public affairs reporting
program at what is now the University of Illinois Springfield, where
she was an intern with the Copley News Service bureau in the
Capitol.
She
reported on education for the Belleville News Democrat in St. Clair
County for a year and then joined the Illinois State Board of
Education's Springfield office as a public information officer.
She
left the state board to serve for a brief period as assistant to the
director of the state Department of Rehabilitation Services, now a
part of the Department of Human Services.
She
returned to the State Board of Education and served there for a
total of over 21 years in several positions, including assistant to
the state superintendent, director of communications and her final
position, as manager of public affairs and communications.
A
portion of her duties included coordinating and later managing the
Those Who Excel, Teacher of the Year and Milken National Educator
Award programs. She initiated the practice of using these exemplary
educators throughout the state to help improve schools.
She
received an Award of Excellence from the National Association of
State Education Department Information Officers in 1984 and the
organization's Award of Distinction in 1986.
She
was a member of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church of Mount Pulaski,
the Illinois Chapter of the National School Public Relations
Association, the Breakfast Optimist Club of Springfield and the
Springfield Bicycle Club. She was a lifetime member of the
University of Illinois Alumni Association.
She
participated in the Big Brother-Big Sister organization in
Springfield and was named Big Sister of the Year in 1992.
In
recent years she was active in the Relay for Life. Her death came
after a lengthy battle with cancer.
Memorials may be made to the Kim Knauer
Memorial Scholarship Fund, the American Cancer Society or to the
donor's choice.
Click here to send a note of condolence to the Knauer family.
