Obituary of Diane M. Knutson

Diane M. Knutson, age 73, passed away Monday, December 9, 2019 after a courageous battle with cancer.  She was born May 31, 1946 in Fargo, North Dakota, the sixth child of Clarence Robert and Amanda (Krueger) Gulland.  She loved being raised on a farm and was a lifelong lover of animals.

She married Darrell A. Knutson in 1967 and the couple raised three daughters. They were able to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary before the cancer diagnosis.   Diane was very active at her church, Christ the King.   She also served the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, where she was Society President &  Zone President.  Diane’s most recent passion was to help bring a Comfort Dog Ministry to Christ the King.  She was a lover of genealogy and spent 20 plus years working on her family tree and helping others with theirs.  Although Miller County was not her original home, she served as Secretary for the Miller County Historical Society for several years and was a research volunteer.

Crafting was also a lifelong passion and she loved to create with many mediums.  Making worship banners for the church as well as for the LWML Conventions brought her so much joy.

Diane is survived by her husband, Darrell Axel Knutson; her daughters, Tessa Wright and husband, Jack, of Jefferson City, Missouri, Tracy Knutson and partner Dyke Miller of St. Louis, Missouri, and Teri Knutson and partner Todd Graham of Jefferson City, Missouri; her grandchildren, Katherine Wright and Andrew Wright; and great-grandson, Jackson Wright.   She is also survived by her sisters, Betty Whitmore of Chico, California and Bonnie Eicholtz and husband, Kent, of Fargo, North Dakota; her brothers, Bernie Gulland and wife, Marilyn, of Minneapolis, Minnesota and Duane Gulland of Absaraka, North Dakota; along with a host of other relatives and many friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Clarence and Amanda (Krueger) Gulland of Absaraka, North Dakota and her brother Clarence Gulland of Sheldon, North Dakota.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00 am, Saturday, December 14, 2019, at Christ the King Lutheran Church, Lake Ozark, Missouri.  The family will welcome friends for visitation from 10:00-11:00 am prior to services at the church.  A luncheon will follow.

In lieu of flowers memorial donations are suggested to the Comfort Dog Ministry, c/o Christ the King Lutheran Church, In Memory of Diane Knutson.