Marj Nejdl signs ornaments at the National Czech & Slovak museum & Library in 2017 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Just last year, Marj Nejdl was honored with an exhibit of her exquisite Czech folk art at the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library. Nejdl died Monday, March 10, 2025, after suffering complications from a stroke. She was 88.

Designated a “Living Iowa Treasure” by the Iowa Arts Council, Nejdl was a first-generation Czech American who learned the Czech tradition of egg decorating, called kraslice, from her mother, Helen Kroupa Kopecek, and uncle, Martin Polehna.

Tributes poured in on social media.

Marj Nejdl is shown in front of some of her paintings exhibited at the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library in January 2024. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

“A national treasure, amazingly talented and simply so kind,” wrote one friend on Facebook.

“She was a sweet woman, a talented artist, and a generous giver of her time and talents,” wrote another. “We should all strive to be more like her.”

Nejdl was immersed in the Czech culture of Cedar Rapids, teaching Sokol gymnastics for decades, leading and volunteering in organizations such as Damska Matice Skolska, CSA, the Czech Heritage Foundation, Czech Heritage Singers and the Federation of Czech Groups, and donating her designs for buttons for the annual Houby Days celebration and more.

Learn more about the Czech artistry of Marj Nejdl.

Eggs decorated by Master Czech Folk Artist Marj Nejdl are shown during the Czech School class on June 20, 2018. She taught the students how to design their own eggs. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

Nejdl graduated in 1957 from the Ray-Vogue Commercial Art School of the Chicago Art Institute.

Aprons, coffee mugs and Christmas ornaments for the museum are among the works adorned with her folk art.

Egg decorating classes she taught at the museum typically sold out and Nejdl also taught the art form to generations of Czech School students.

A memorial service and celebration will be held at the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library on March 22, 2025 at 11 a.m.

See more of her artwork featured in 2024 at the museum.

Marj Nejdl, center, poses for photos with her niece, Lynne Marie Nejdl Erger, and sister-in-law, Sheryl Nejdl, during the opening of an exhibit of her work, Jan. 27, 2024, at the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (photo/Cindy Hadish)