Leon William Krause

Leon W. "Hank" Krause, 83, of Byron, NE, passed away on January 12, 2015, at Brodstone Memorial Hospital in Superior, NE. He was born on the family farm near Fairbury, NE on March 26, 1931, the son of Paul and Emily (Malchow) Krause.He was married to Ruby Billups on July 19, 1953 in Oakland, CA. To this union 3 children were born and one was adopted by Leon. He joined the United States Navy and served from September 25, 1950 to June 24, 1954. Leon (Hank) was a member of the St. Paul Lutheran church in Byron NE. He helped tear down the old church and rebuild the new church in its place. At one time he ushered and in later years was the bell ringer for services and to announce a death within the community. He was a member of the American Legion and recently received a plaque for 50 years of service. He was also a long time member of the Byron Volunteer Fire Department and served as fire chief for many years, receiving a golden axe award in 2014 for his service.Leon had several gardens and shared his produce with friends, neighbors and family. He hunted most of his life and provided the turkey for the family Thanksgiving celebrations by taking pride in harvesting each bird. The large deer head on his wall was one of the many ways he showed he was an avid outdoorsman. One of the ways he shared his love for his family was to cook the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner; he was proud of his abilities to feed his family not only with the game he would harvest but with produce he would grow. During the summer months you could always walk into the store and purchase fresh tomatoes from his garden. When there was free time you could find Hank along a creek bed or at Lovewell Lake fishing. He tied fishing lures and sold some at the marina. He loved to catch walleye and share them with others. For not being a fan of eating fish he knew how to catch them and took every chance to share his knowledge and catch with someone else. Hank made several types of lures and to see people catch something from them always put a smile on his face. His time fishing and hunting was a passion, he was never greedy in taking game, just to have a day on the water or in the woods was a success to Hank. Being a blacksmith and welder was hard work, but through the years of toughening his hands he learned to repair anything that came into his shop. If he couldn't repair it, he would try to recreate the part. His smile and jokes when he visited the shops in Byron will be sorely missed by everyone in town and his welding repairs will be missed by the farmers in the area. Krause Welding always welcomed new and old friends to swap fishing stories with or just to get in the shade. Hank’s time spent in the community with his friends and neighbors will be missed. He enjoyed those close to him and cherished the memories you helped him make. Those left to cherish some of his memories are his children and their spouses, Kerry and Lucy Krause of Lincoln, NE, William and Julie Krause of Auburn NE, Susan Krause of Wahoo, NE, and Becky and Jack Fisher of Topeka, KS and the grandchildren, great grandchildren and a great great grandchild. Leon was preceded in death by his wife of 38 years, Ruby. A Memorial Service will be held at 10:30 AM on Wednesday, January 28th at St Paul Lutheran Church in Byron, NE with Pastor Jonathan Jensen officiating. Burial of ashes will be in the St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery following the service. Booksigning is available at Price Funeral Home in Hebron, NE. Memorials are suggested to the family to be designated at a later date. Condolences may be sent to Ahrendts Funeral Home, or left at www.priceurbauerahrendts.com. Ahrendts Funeral Home of Deshler, Nebraska was entrusted with the arrangements.