Audrey Miller Bodner

Audrey Miller Bodner was born on June 4, 1903, in Sedalia, Missouri. She had an active career in music, art and education. She received a bachelor’s of music degree from the University of Illinois in 1927, and a master’s of music from Northwestern University in 1939. In the 1950s, she did her postgraduate studies in art at the Kansas City Art Institute in 1953, 1955-1956, and attended the University of Hawaii in 1954. 

During her lifetime, she held several jobs. From 1930-1944, she was the supervisor of music in the public schools in Woodstock, Illinois. In 1944, she returned to Kansas City and taught art at Northeast High School from 1944-1959, and then taught French and German at Southwest High school from 1959-1973. Bodner was also a lecturer in education at the University of Kansas City. Though most of her career was in education, she continued to be an active musician. In the 1950s, she was a soloist at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Kansas City, Missouri.

Bodner was involved in the Kansas City arts scene in the 1950s and 1960s and was active in local art organizations and exhibited frequently. In the 1950s, she was a producer and narrator for the television productions Art for Everyone on KMBC-TV (1954-1957), Portrait on KCMO-TV (1957-1960), Treasure, Pride in Kansas City on WDAF-TV (1957), and Three Star Gifts for Halls, Inc. on KCMO-TV (1958).

She was also a writer. In 1965 and 1966, she won a third-place prize for an original play from the National League of American Pen Women. She won an award in 1971 for her free verse poem in a national contest sponsored by the same organization. Additionally, she won several awards for her work in state contests. In 1974, she was elected the president of the Kansas City chapter of the Pen Women.

Audrey Miller Bodner died on November 23, 1976.