Laura Atkins

Obituary of Laura Knight Atkins

Laura Knight Atkins, grandmother of Carl and Oscar Streifeneder, mother of Kathleen Feagin Streifeneder and Christopher Eugene Blacker, and wife of Jesse Atkins, passed away on Tuesday afternoon, April 6, 2021, in Santa Fe, at the age of 72.

Laura was an optimist, believing that things could be better.  She was a doer, taking action to make things better.  She had a lifelong curiosity about the world around her, an untiring sense of adventure, and a profound love of the outdoors. She had the courage of her convictions:  in the face of adversity she would dig in and most often overcome.  Her strengths of character were many, and they ran deep:  boundlessly energetic, fearless, honest, straightforward, determined, poised, unpretentious, approachable compassionate, and fiercely devoted to her children and grandchildren.    

Laura made the most of the life that was given to her.  After graduating from Roswell High School, she attended New Mexico State University for a time and ultimately graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering from Tulane University in New Orleans in 1976.  She was a trailblazer at a time when there were very few women in the engineering field, launching a successful professional career that spanned more that two decades and took her everywhere in the world—Alaska, Texas, China, India, Venezuela, Dubai. During the course of her career she also raised daughter Kathleen and brought into the world and raised son Christopher.

New challenges always beckoned to Laura.  When her working career came to a close, Laura decided to reinvent herself as “something other than an engineer”.  With that aim in mind, she enrolled in the mid-career program at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, graduating in 2001 with a master’s degree in Public Administration.    

 That achievement opened new horizons.  Laura found a unique opportunity and signed on for a three year stint with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, (OPEC) in Vienna.  Vienna was her kind of town:  beautiful setting, overflowing with all kinds of music . . . and close to some good hiking and skiing.

And then it was on to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she became an independent energy consultant, advising US-based companies.  The consulting business was intensive, but Laura still found time to tour Argentina from top to bottom and take in a tango lesson or two. In 2010, it was back to Texas, this time Houston.  There she worked for an energy publishing and consulting outfit, until retirement in 2015, when she and Jesse moved to Santa Fe.

True to form, retirement didn’t slow her up at all.  In addition to seeing her grandsons as often as she could and traveling frequently, she was active in the League of Women Voters, RepresentUS and other civic organizations.  She maintained close contact with her family and extensive network of friends, and she authored a novel.  With Santa Fe as a base, she was able to hike and ski and snowshoe and generally savor the beauty of New Mexico, the state she always considered home.

In October of 2020 she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.  With the help of the University of New Mexico Cancer Center, she fought it all the way, with dignity, grace, and humor.   Her last round of chemotherapy ended on Monday, March 29, 2021.  It looked as if she had beaten the leukemia.  She was making plans.  Sadly, it was not to be.  A common bacterial infection overwhelmed her immune system weakened by chemotherapy and proved fatal.  On Easter Sunday she began to show symptoms of infection.  By Tuesday afternoon, April 6 she was gone.

The memory of Laura Knight Atkins’ strength, courage, and love will carry us through these hard times and into brighter ones to come.