Obituary of Lillian Mae Krause

October 24, 1926 - Lethbridge, Alberta

November 26, 2023 - Calgary, Alberta

Lillian “Lil” Krause (nee Morris) of Calgary, AB, passed away at the age of 97 in her home at McKenzie Towne Retirement Residence.

Lil was the beloved wife of Arthur Willian Krause of Lethbridge, Alberta who passed away in July of 2014. She was also the hard-working mom of eight children who she raised with unending patience, compassion, and a strong sense of humour. 

Lil lived through the Depression of the 1930’s and the Second World War. As result of her life experiences, she was a talented storyteller; especially around the adventures she had with her best friend of 90 years, Joyce Scott.

Lil moved from her home in Lethbridge to Vancouver after finishing high school. She lived with her sister Irene, working as a legal secretary and a “Rosie the Riveter” for the Royal Canadian Air Force near the end of the war.

As a young wife, Lil was always singing along with the radio while she attended to her ever-growing family in Lethbridge and then in Calgary. When the family moved to Thunder Bay, Ontario, Lil found the perfect vehicle for her smooth contralto voice as a founding member of the Sounds of Superior Chorus in 1973. In a subsequent move back to Calgary she joined the Chinook Winds chorus and later the Vocal Motion Chorus under the direction of her daughter Caroline. She was also a member of various acapella quartets with her daughters, Susan, Caroline, Lisa, and friends from Sweet Adelines. Lil’s passion for singing and music was passed on to her eight children all of whom are musicians and continue to pass this gift on through their families and friends. One of her other life-long passions was reading. She could always be found with a cup of tea and a good book.

Lil was one of a family of six siblings and is survived by her sister Sandra Daly. She is also survived by five sons, Paul, Greg, Lorne, Allan, and Tim; and three daughters, Susan Lewis, Caroline Richards, and Lisa Krause. She was a very proud grandma and great-grandma of her fourteen grandchildren, Sarah, Michael, Mae, Sean, Nicole, Laura, Samantha, Jonathan, Andrew, Jennifer, Andrea, Alicia, Sonja, and Brian; and seventeen great-grandchildren, Oaklee, Gabriel, Lucia, Everly, Faith, Bennett, Berlin, Baker, Arlo, Oliver, Ben, Nick, Sophia, Brady, Stella, Griffin, Felicity.

A Celebration of Lillian’s Life will be held at The Residence of Caroline Richards on Saturday, December 9, 2023, from 1:00 PM to 7:00 PM. A Special Tribute will be made at 3:00 PM. There will an additional Celebration of Life for Lillian in late spring 2024 for family and friends, date and location will be announced at a later date. Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared and viewed with Lil’s family here. 

There will be an additional Celebration of Life for Lillian in the late spring for family and friends. Date and location to be announced.

A special thank you to Tina Lorenzo who was Lillian’s loving caregiver for eight years. You were very special to Lillian and took such exceptional care of her. Also, many thanks go out to McKenzie Towne Retirement community staff, especially the Aberdeen unit, for the wonderful care they provided for Lillian.

Lil will be most remembered for her passion for music, her beautiful voice, and the loving care she brought to this world and shared with her family.

“Music heard so deeply that it is not heard at all, but you are the music while the music lasts.” — T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets

In living memory of Lillian Krause, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes, Fish Creek, 14441 Bannister Road SE, Calgary, Ab t2x 3j3, Telephone: 403-256-9575.