BOCKHAUS, Mary Kay

BOCKHAUS, Mary Kay. (Cedar Rapids, IA, May 21, 1919--Dubuque, IA, Oct. 11, 2012). Mary Kay and her husband, Woodrow, were charter members of Friendship Force in 1979. In addition to traveling to many countries, they housed a family who escaped from Vietnam. She worked at Eska Toy Company in Dyersville for ten years and CAPRI COSMETOLOGY COLLEGE for twenty years. (1)

Upon retirement she joined the Tuesday Group, local artists who discussed and practiced their art. (2) Her long association with the arts in Dubuque County included membership in the DUBUQUE MUSEUM OF ART and DUBUQUE ART ASSOCIATION beginning in 1950. Her skill earned her work inclusion in the "Artists of Iowa Collection" as well as collections in Japan, Germany, Korea, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. Locally her paintings have been shown at CLARKE UNIVERSITY, DUBUQUE MUSEUM OF ART, UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE, and the Iowa Water Color Society. (3)

In 1987, Bockhaus was one of thirty-two artists who created art using slate roof tiles that once covered ST. LUKE'S UNITED METHODIST CHURCH. Found in the church basement, the tiles were thought to have been used on the roof beginning in 1897 until a new, less heavy roof, was placed on the building during the early 1980s. Marilyn Conklin thought of the art idea and contacted the artists who contributed their work to an auction. (4) Bockhaus won first place for her "Needle Point of Dubuque Landmarks" at the YOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION (Y.W.C.A.) Needlework Competition in 1997.

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Source:

1. Obituary, Telegraph Herald, October 14, 2012, p. 16

2. "Holiday Art for Sale," Telegraph Herald, November 17, 1994, p. 14

3. Obituary

3. Hanson, Lyn, "Tiles Born Again," Telegraph Herald, October 11, 1987, p. 45