Richard Edwin Krause

Lt Dick Krause was a Lt Bombardier who served in the MTO/ Combat Missions in the B-25 Mitchells, 321st Bomb Group, 445th Bomb Squadron.

 -SACRAMENTO BEE- Published 12:00 am PST Friday, January 11, 2008
Story appeared in METRO section, Page B4
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Richard "Dick" Krause, a World War II aviator, active volunteer and master gardener who helped organize a Fair Oaks community garden and horticulture center, died Saturday. He was 88.
He died at his Orangevale home of a brain tumor that was discovered last month, said his son, Rick Krause Jr.
Richard "Dick" Krause joined the University of California Cooperative Extension master gardener program in 1988 with a background in biochemistry and a passion for nurturing seeds. He analyzed dirt samples, identified unusual plants and offered advice to thousands of backyard growers at the California State Fair and in The Bee's garden pages.
"Dick was an educator at heart," program coordinator Judy McClure said. "He respected his audience's knowledge and never talked down to people."
He was a coordinator for the Fair Oaks Community Garden in Fair Oaks Park and helped establish the adjacent Fair Oaks Horticulture Center. He taught classes, helped prepare soil and maintained gates and locks. He donated his own equipment for use, including a rototiller, wood chipper and myriad hand tools.
"He was the engine of our garden," said Lea Beem, another garden coordinator. "He was the go-to guy for everything."
Mr. Krause also donated his time, tools and talent to other community groups. A self-taught woodturner and blacksmith with a backyard forge, he produced materials for volunteers restoring a Victorian home and helped Scouts with service projects at the community garden and Fair Oaks Cemetery.
"He was a very skilled individual and very committed," said Bill Ryan, a longtime neighbor and assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 310. "He was the kind of man you'd want your children to grow up knowing."  ****************************************************************************************
Mr. Krause became a community volunteer after an Air Force career overseeing labs at base hospitals and clinics. He retired at Mather Air Force Base as a lieutenant colonel in 1975.
During World War II, he flew 70 missions over Italy as a bombardier/navigator and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross. Last year, he was featured in a History Channel TV program about vintage bomber planes.
"They brought six former crew members together to talk about B-25s," said his wife, Helen Krause. "He was the only one who could still get into his flight suit. He was always fit."
Richard Edwin Krause was born in 1919 in Syracuse, N.Y., and grew up in Detroit. He was one of four sons born to a homemaker and a service manager for U.S. Rubber Co.
He joined the National Guard and Coast Guard before transferring to the U.S. Army Air Forces. He joined the Army Reserve after World War II and earned a master's degree in biochemistry at the University of Southern California. He married Helen Nofziger in 1947.
He returned to active duty in the Korean War and was assigned to hospitals in the United States and Brazil. After retiring, he spent two more years at a U.S. military hospital in Saudi Arabia before returning to Sacramento. He was a founding member of the Nor-Cal Woodturners.
Mr. Krause enjoyed working in his yard. He was a warm, outgoing man who freely shared tips with neighbors and passers-by.
"He was a big talker," his wife (Helen)  said. "He loved explaining things."