Friday, September 29, 2006

The Bulletin Eulogy

This is the eulogy printed on the back of the church bulletin.

CHRISTEL RUTH KRAUSE
NOVEMBER 20, 1932 – SEPTEMBER 24, 2006

Beloved wife, sister, mother and grandmother, Christel passed away peacefully at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Hamilton on Sunday, September 24th, 2006. She was in her 74th year and had lived on Bedford Road, in Guelph Township, for almost 50 years.
She is survived by her loving husband Gerhard Krause, children Claudia and Ralph Van Riesen of Guelph, Michael and Brigitte Krause of Thornhill, Dorothea and Michael LeBlanc of Halifax, Andreas and Luisa Krause of Guelph, and nine grandchildren: Christel, Daniel, Aaron, Matthew, Jared, Kirstyn, Abigail, Joshua and Andrea. She was also affectionately regarded by her brother-in-law Gunter and his late wife Barbara Louise Krause. She is also survived by siblings Hella, Georg, Renate, Joachim and Karin, all of Germany, and was predeceased by her parents, and siblings Reinhard, Hildegard and Willi.
Born Christel Bergemann in Greifenhagen, Germany, she was married to Gerhard on November 18, 1952. At the age of 22 years, she travelled to Canada with her 10-month-old firstborn (Claudia) aboard the ocean liner Arosa Sun to meet up with Gerhard, who had gone ahead to prepare accommodation. Two more children came in quick succession (Michael, 1956 and Dorothea, 1957) along with a house of their own on Bedford Road. Christel was so devoted to and supportive of her husband Gerhard and her life was invested in raising her children and transforming a pre-WWI bungalow into a home. She was a great cook and a proficient seamstress. After the birth of her fourth child (Andreas, 1964) she spent some years working for ITT, a Guelph electronics firm, and even ran her own business for a time. She was a gentle listener, and a woman of deep faith and prayer. All of her children and grandchildren have followed her example and have trusted Jesus Christ as Lord.
Known for her beautiful alto voice, Christel participated in several choirs over the years. More recently, she enjoyed painting classes at the Evergreen Centre and always looked forward to Prime Time get-togethers at Crestwicke Baptist Church. She was an avid gardener throughout her married life, and continued to tend her flowers even while confined to a wheelchair. Not long ago, she dreamed of warm sunny days as a young girl, when she would love to run through fields of wild flowers.
Christel loved Jesus Christ with all her heart and was an example of patience, gentleness and endurance to all who knew her. She loved to worship while playing hymns or choruses on her keyboard at home. Her favourite tune was “Count your blessings, name them one by one…” She was a blessing to so many with her sweet and gentle way, was greatly loved and will be deeply missed.

No comments: