Mrs. Krause

Town Crier Report

Lillian Ruth Powers Krause, 74, died Feb. 2 at El Camino Hospital after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. She was in good health until her sudden death.

She is survived by her husband of 54 years, Lloyd Krause, and their children Martha Lynn and Peter Lloyd.

Mrs. Krause was born Nov. 3, 1931. She married June 22, 1952, and moved to Los Altos in 1959.

Mrs. Krause volunteered in Los Altos schools during the 1960s and 1970s, and for 25 years worked part time in Los Altos and Palo Alto, at Classic Lines, Dorchester and, most recently, Uncommon Threads.

Family and friends described her as an avid knitter and skilled in other needle arts. She was an unassuming, understated exemplar of refined tastes, always well organized, a superb cook and hostess, an enthusiastic skier and stick-shift-car driver, a proficient traveler who self-guided tours of the United States and Europe, and a generous-spirited true democrat.

A devoted Christian throughout her life, Mrs. Krause participated in the Upper Room Mission and Calvary Church in San Jose, Presbyterian churches in Berkeley, Hollywood and Menlo Park, the Friends of Stanford Memorial Church and Woodside Village Church.

Mrs. Krause’s parents were Lew E. Powers and Ruth Victoria Lilyquist Powers. Her father’s family came to Salem, Mass., in 1654, to Oregon in 1846 and to San Jose in 1928. Her mother was born in Norway to Swedish and Norwegian parents and came to America at age 3.

The Lilyquist family includes physicians as well as leaders in the Presbyterian Church, Swedish Free Church, Salvation Army, Metropolitan Museum of Art, U.S. diplomatic service, Pentagon, college administration, Los Angeles public school and court systems, and California Attorney General’s Office.

Mrs. Krause’s graveside service was held Feb. 17 at Oak Hill Cemetery in San Jose, and her memorial service took place at St. Mark’s Chapel in Palo Alto Feb. 18.