Arthur "Bud" Kudart
July 27, 1930 ~ September 18, 2026
Arthur “Bud” Ronald Kudart, 96, of Chicago, Illinois, formerly of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, passed away on Friday, September 18, 2026, at Artis Senior Living, Chicago. Funeral Service: 1:00 p.m., Tuesday, September 29, 2026. Stewart Baxter Funeral & Memorial Services, Mount Vernon, Iowa. A time for food and fellowship will follow the service. Bud will be buried in the Mount Vernon Cemetery, next to his wife, and not far from his parents’ gravesite.
Bud was born on July 27, 1930, in Cedar Rapids, the son of Arthur and Lillian (Schneider) Kudart. He grew up in Mount Vernon, attended Cornell College, and graduated from The University of Iowa in 1952. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps officer candidate program in 1952 during the Korean War. He served in active duty and the reserves until 1960.
Bud married a beautiful nurse, Pat Brown, from Dysart, Iowa on December 12, 1954. Together, living in Cedar Rapids, they enjoyed an interesting, loving, and challenging marriage of 61 years, ending with Pat’s death in 2016. They had two children, Kay and Tom.
Bud graduated from University of Iowa law school in 1958 and formed his own small law firm. His law partner and friend was Donald Holmes. Bud practiced law for 58 years. In addition, he was elected to the Iowa Senate in 1978 and served there for four years, from 1979-1983. Bud also enjoyed writing. He authored four books and a number of papers. Most dealt with ‘moving Iowa and Cedar Rapids forward,’ as he put it.
Bud is survived by his daughter, Kay Holler, of Chicago and son, Tom Kudart, of Hawthorne, California. He is also survived by four grandchildren, John Holler (Katia Barron), Nanda Holler, Beth Holler, and Chintan Holler, all of Chicago; son-in-law, Steve Holler, and Tom’s partner Mary Jo Sweeney. Also surviving are two nephews, Craig Johnson and David (Nancy) Lambert; two nieces, Jo Lynn Lambert (Mike Larrance), and Karla (Todd) Gundlach; brother-in-law, Calvin Lambert; and cousin, Allan (Margaret) Bostelmann.
Bud’s parents; wife, Pat; in-laws, Maye and Clifford Brown; sister, Shirley Johnson; brother-in-law, Willard Johnson, and sister-in-law, Wanda Lambert, preceded him in death.
Broadcast Date:
Services
Funeral Service:
Tuesday, September 29, 2026
1:00 pm
Stewart Baxter Funeral & Memorial Services - Mount Vernon
715 10th Avenue SW
Mount Vernon, IA 52314
319-895-8425
info@stewartbaxter.com
Burial: Tuesday, September 29, 2026
Mount Vernon Memorial Cemetery
520 1st Street E
Mount Vernon, IA 52314
319-895-8742
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I was so saddened to learn of Bud’s passing. I worked for him in the Mechanicsville law office. I enjoyed my time there with him. I always laughed because on Monday morning he wanted to hear about what we did over the weekend but he never told me what he and Pat did. I worked on inputting one of his last books which was a challenge as I was just learning to use a computer. My deepest sympathy to his entire family.
Carol Jilovec