Elizabeth J. Krause

Elizabeth (aka Betty) Jean nee’ Schmidt Krause was called to her heavenly home on Thursday, January 20th, 2022. Betty was born at home during a blizzard on December 16, 1932 in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin to Elmer and Evelyn Schmidt. She held onto the hope that was hers in Christian baptism, where she was called to faith by name on January 8th, 1933. She attended St Stephen’s Lutheran grade school. She was confirmed at St. Stephen’s Ev. Lutheran Church on April 14th, 1946. Throughout her life, she held fast to the treasury of her confirmation verse: Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’.”She had many jobs before she entered the career force: babysitting, tying flies for a tackle company, cleaning and more.She was shy in her earlier years but became outgoing during high school. She loved to sing. Through the commercial club she became part of a choral singing group that performed in the public park in Beaver Dam during the summers. She loved playing volleyball, bowling and other group activities.She was offered a co-op job with Household Finance Loan Company while she was still in high school. Following graduation she continued to work there as one of the main employees. She was cross trained to work in other locations throughout the area. She met her future husband in grade school, but they parted ways when Betty went to public high school and he went to Northwestern Preparatory School in Watertown to study for the ministry. She became engaged to Harmon Carl Krause during his final year of college. They were married on August 23rd, 1953 and were blessed with three children before he was ordained into the ministry. Betty returned to work within 1 to 3 weeks after giving birth. Harmon’s first call was to a dual parish in the isolated bluffs of the Tomah/Mauston area. They were blessed with two more children during their stay there. He received a second call to the rural Lake Mills area in 1962. Shortly after they arrived, their youngest child was born. They also became the proud new owners of a cow and her calf which provided many valuable opportunities to their family. Betty and Harmon loved the people and their life which took them back near their birth homes. Betty’s office skills served them well as she became the church secretary in many respects. She put in many long nights typing Harmon’s sermons for him and mimeographing church bulletins. Her daughter remembers listening to the clack clack clack of the typewriter keys, while aspiring to be able to type as fast as her mother someday. Betty was offered an opportunity to return to the workforce part-time in the Watertown office in the late 1960s. On July 17th, 1969 her life would be forever changed. An escaped criminal who had committed multiple homicides in the chain of finance companies scoped out her workplace and returned on September 5th. He held a 38 caliber gun 10 inches from her head (after threatening her family should she tell anybody) and pulled the trigger. As she prepared to die, she prayed that God would take care of her family and she said the Lord’s prayer. The Lord’s prayer and her confirmation verse continued to be her daily prayers throughout her life. She was the only living witness in a string of seven murders. God spared her through a miracle, but the remaining years of her life were not easy ones for her or her family. They moved to the Two Rivers area and then to the Cornell area… finally settling on a small hobby farm near Jim Falls. She was widowed in April,1988. Eventually she sold the farm and moved into Bloomer. After some years she relocated to Mishicot, Wisconsin where she still had family. In 2020, when her health became an issue, she made the transition to an assisted living facility in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin where she had begun her life…and closer to two of her adult children. She was an amazing cook and homemaker. She spent thousands of hours cross stitching beautiful samplers for her family, beloved churches and fundraisers. They totaled 50 or more. She remarked in later years that she had not made one for herself. The crippling in her hands told the story of her love. She was a wicked Yahtzee player and incredibly competitive. She was a die-hard Packer fan.Everyone who knew Betty knew that God came first with her and family second. She had many lifelong friends and she tried to stay in touch with them over the years. Her bold declarations of faith will always be with us. She was preceded in death by her parents Elmer and Evelyn, newborn sister Sandra, 3-year-old brother Gerald, oldest brother Donald, husband Harmon, son Mark, mother-in-law Waneta, father-in-law Herman, sisters-in-law Linda, Mary, Jean and Elaine, great-granddaughter Hailey and niece Sharon. She is survived by her brother Dale, five of her six children (Tamar, Michael, Paul, Nathan and Matthew). She loved their spouses and all of the in- laws as her own. She was blessed with 33 grandchildren, 33 great grandchildren, numerous nephews, nieces and children-in law. Every one of them knew that they were precious to her. Her family is thankful that her suffering is over and that she is rejoined with the saints in Heaven, but her absence in this life leaves us with a gaping wound as we learn to live here without her.Betty’s family wishes to extend a special thank you to Columbia Healthcare Center, Beaver Dam Assisted Living and Generations Hospice for the love and care that she received over the past 18 months.Visitation will take place on Saturday, May 28, 2022 at Abiding Shepherd Lutheran Church (406 W Cottage Grove Rd, Cottage Grove, WI 53527) from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. with the funeral service to begin immediately following visitation at 11:30. A lunch will be served following the service at Doubledays Banquet Hall (4586 Baxter Rd, Cottage Grove, WI 53527).The graveside interment will take place at Highland Memory Gardens (N9782 US-151, Beaver Dam, WI 53916) with the family present at a designated time.Memorials can be made in lieu of flowers to Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Mequon, Wisconsin, Abiding Shepherd Lutheran Church in Cottage Grove, Wisconsin or Beaver Dam Assisted Living.