Richard "Lefty" Kraus

Richard "Lefty" Kraus was born June 13, 1931 inside a tent in a Peoria, AZ cottonfield and passed away in his Ridgefield, WA home on September 24, 2025. Shortly after being born his family moved to Flagstaff, AZ before heading back east to Kansas and ultimately to his longtime hometown of Ridgefield in 1936. He graduated from R.H.S. in 1950 where he met his wife Marilyn. After high school he decided that college wasn't for him and joined the U.S. Navy and proudly served from 1951 to 1955. During this time he was stationed in San Diego but made several trips across the Pacific Ocean as a 1st class torpedoman on the U.S.S. Theodore E. Chandler destroyer, serving in the Korean War. Stories from this time and off-base leave shenanigans became favorites he would tell for years to come. He and Marilyn were wed in 1955 and built a life together with three kids, many dogs over the years, all in the house he built by hand and moved into during the Columbus Day Storm of 1962- another great story for him to tell. He had a love for the outdoors- spending much time hunting and camping throughout his life, and especially loved duck hunting with the guys in his duck club. He never met a dog he didn't like and would give bites to them from the table, always saying, "if it's good enough for me, it's good enough for the dog". You could often catch him laying on the floor or on the ground, taking a nap with his dogs. In the summer he could often be found tending to his garden and many of us were lucky enough to be able to enjoy some of Lefty's garden bounty. Many around Ridgefield also had to take a slow ride when we got stuck behind him driving his tractor through town. By the end of summer he would always have more than enough firewood cut, a chore he enjoyed more than most and was often seen stacking his wood neatly at the barn coming into town. He was a hardworking man, but also didn't take life too seriously, always taking time for a good B.S. session on the back patio with friends, family, neighbors and often people he had just met. He will be deeply missed and we all raise a glass of brown water to him.

He is survived by his wife of 70 years Marilyn, his two daughters Sharon (Roger) Linn and Carol (Ken) Campbell, his niece Sue (Bob) Horal and nephew Ralph (Pam) Kraus. He is also survived by his grandchildren Julie (Kevin) Linn, Michael (Tanika) Campbell, Elizabeth (Sara) Campbell, Russell (Angie) Linn, David Linn, Scott (Amy) Linn, his two bonus grandchildren Jessi (Sean) Schulz and J.R. (Emily) Horal, along with five great grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his parents, brother and his beloved son, Don.

Funeral Services will be held at 3 p.m. on Monday September 29th, 2025 at the Ridgefield Nazarene Church.