David Morgan Knudson
Obituary

David Morgan Knudson, a visionary commercial artist and founder of the National Historic Route 66 Federation, died on August 31 in Yucaipa, California. He was 86.

Born in Nebraska, Mr. Knudson was adopted by Gaylord and Ruth Knudson and raised in Berkeley, Michigan. A spirited and mischievous child, his energy eventually landed him at military school–though his unconventional spirit would prove impossible to suppress for long.

After military school, Mr. Knudson graduated from Berkeley High School in 1957 and then attended Ferris State University, where he received a BA in Marketing Communications and an AA in Commercial Art. He worked for a firm in Midland, Michigan, where he developed his skills as a commercial artist while pursuing his passion for racing sports cars. After years of work in Midland, he eventually moved to Los Angeles.

After settling in Los Angeles in 1964, Mr. Knudson married Shelly Stevens, whom he had convinced to leave her home and move west to join him. He worked as a commercial artist for various clients throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. The couple had a son, Andrew, born in 1969. In 1974, Mr. Knudson and Stevens divorced. That same year, he married Mary Lou Rozburski and co–founded the advertising firm Walker, Knudson and Campbell–a venture that reflected his philosophy: when the conventional path didn't fit, he forged his own.

In 1965, Mr. Knudson purchased a Morgan, the distinctive sportscar that embodied his lifelong appreciation for fine design and engineering. Years later, he purchased a DeLorean, a passion for the distinctive machine that led him, along with his wife Mary Lou and others, to co–found the DeLorean Owners Association on April 10, 1983–an early demonstration of his talent for building communities around shared interests.

But it was Route 66 that became his life's work. On October 14, 1963, Mr. Knudson had driven a red Triumph TR4 from Detroit to Los Angeles with a college friend, taking Route 66 across the country with little money and high hopes. Thirty-one years later, following his father's death in April 1994, Mr. Knudson and his wife Mary Lou drove back along Route 66 in his father's Ford Tempo. What they discovered shocked him: vast stretches of the highway had been bypassed, torn up, or allowed to decay into near-invisibility. Over two weeks, they photographed the vanishing road and documented what remained. By the time they reached Los Angeles, the couple had made a fateful decision: Mr. Knudson would sell his shares in his advertising company, and together they would work to save Route 66.

In 1995, Mr. Knudson established the National Historic Route 66 Federation. At a time when only scattered state–level organizations existed, his vision was uniquely ambitious: to create a national movement dedicated to preserving and promoting the Mother Road before it disappeared entirely.

He proved as effective an advocate as he was an artist. Working with the Federation, Mr. Knudson was instrumental in securing Congressional passage of the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Act in 1999–legislation that transformed how the historic highway would be protected. He authored "The Mother Road: Route 66," served on the advisory council of the National Park Service's Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program, hosted the prestigious Steinbeck Award banquet for ten years beginning in 1996, and championed Jerry McClanahan's EZ 66 Guide–now in its sixth printing and known as the "Route 66 Bible." Through the Federation's website and quarterly magazine, he became a trusted resource for travelers and historians alike, freely promoting hundreds of Route 66 businesses and guiding tens of thousands of visitors along the entire length of the highway.

Those who knew him recalled a man comfortable being the listener in any room–a quality everyone who knew him appreciated. He had a wry sense of humor, an artist's eye, and the quiet persistence of someone who understood that meaningful work rarely follows the script.

Mr. Knudson is survived by his son, Andrew; his stepdaughter, Cheri Fairchild; his stepson, Roy Mumma; his daughter–in–laws, Carla Davey and Sandy Mumma; and grandchildren Chloe, Julian, Lilia, Garrett, Brandon, Matthew, Michael, and Rebecca.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 on Saturday, September 26, 2026, at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Yucaipa, California.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to a local Route 66 preservation campaign or writing a letter to Congress at savingplaces.org/preserve-route-66