Krause, Abe (1930-1992)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1992 Nov 19 p. 14

Birth date: 1930 Dec 26

Text of obituary:

Pastor of Hydro, Okla., Church Dies at 61

Hydro, Okla. — Abe Krause, pastor of Bethel Mennonite Church since 1985, died Nov. 10 at Baptist Hospital in Oklahoma City. He was 61.

Funeral services were held Nov. 13 at the Bethel Church, with John Voth and David Karges officiating. Memorial services were held Nov. 14 at Bethel College Mennonite Church, North Newton, Kan., with Darrell Fast and Floyd Bartel officiating. Burial was in Greenwood Cemetery, Newton.

A native of Mountain Lake, Minn., he also served as pastor at Inola for six years; at Henderson, Neb., 11 years; and at Buhler, Kan., nine years.

Survivors include his wife, Ruby (Kaufman); two daughters, Brenda Krause of North Newton, Kan., and Carol Gerbrand of Hazelridge, Man.,; three brothers, Peter of Sioux City, Iowa, John of Omaha, Neb., and David of Mankato, Minn.; four sisters, Anna Baerg, Sarah Regehr and Tina Duerksen, all of Mountain Lake; Marie Callender of Billings, Mont.; and two grandchildren. One brother, Jacob, preceded him in death.

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The Mennonite obituary: 1992 Dec 8 p. 547

Text of obituary:

Abe Krause, 61, died Nov. 10 in Oklahoma City during surgery. He was pastor at Bethel Church, Hydro, Okla. Survivors include Ruby (his wife) and daughters Brenda and Carol.

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Funeral program biographical sketch:

ABRAHAM KRAUSE

Abraham Krause was born December 26, 1930 in Mountain Lake, Minnesota to Peter and Maria Buller Krause. He died November 10, 1992 during surgery in the Baptist Medical Center, Oklahoma City at the age of 61 years and 10 months.

He was baptized in the Gospel Mennonite Church of Mountain Lake, Minnesota on May 5, 1944.

Pastor Krause began his schooling in Mountain Lake and from there he went to Freeman High School Academy, Freeman, South Dakota. He continued at Freeman Junior College for two years and then graduated from Bethel College, North Newton, Kansas. Later he attended Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Indiana, and graduated in 1959.

On June 5, 1955 he married Ruby Kaufman of Marion, South Dakota. Abe and Ruby have two daughters: Carol, married to Marvin Gerbrand, lives in Hazelridge, Manitoba, Canada, and Brenda lives in North Newton, Kansas. They have two grandchildren, Andrea and Mark.

Pastor Krause has three brothers: Peter, Sioux City, Iowa; John, Omaha, Nebraska; and David, Mankato, Minnesota. He has four sisters: Anna Baerg, Sarah Regehr, and Tina Duerksen, all of Mountain Lake, Minnesota and Marie Callender, Billings, Montana. His parents and one brother preceded him in death. Included in his family are many nieces and nephews and their families.

After he entered the ministry, Pastor Krause served as minister of four congregations: Eden Mennonite, Inola, Oklahoma (6 years), Bethesda Mennonite, Henderson, Nebraska (11 years), Buhler Mennonite, Buhler, Kansas (9 years), and Bethel Mennonite, Hydro, Oklahoma (7 years).

In addition to pastoring congregations, he served on various committees at state, district, and General Conference levels. Recently he completed four years on the executive committee of the Oklahoma Mennonite Convention.

He has been active in the Hydro Community with the Ministerial Alliance, Senior Citizens and with a daily paper route. In his spare time he enjoyed working in harvest during summers, part-time in the hardware store, and also repairing small household items.

In 1990 Pastor Krause became ill, but he remained active in church work on all levels. He continued to participate in the community, even continuing his paper route.

Pastor Abe was an amazing blend of spiritual vitality, compassionate love, and humility. All of these he expressed daily in word and action, with hard work and unflagging dedication. He lived each day with thankfulness and shared with all of us the joy of his commitment to God.