Volker Kruhoeffer

Volker Kruhoeffer ObituaryFormerly of Lititz, Leola, and Lancaster Pennsylvania, Volker Kruhoeffer rejoined his beloved wife, Grace, after a very brief illness on August 2, 2025. He passed peacefully in Edina Minnesota, surrounded by his family.
Born in Hannover Germany in August 1930, Volker lived a remarkable life full of adventure, music, resistance, and love. He spent his younger years north of Berlin where he and his family bravely survived the Soviet invasion of their village in the spring of 1945. Realizing that he did not want to live under Soviet rule after enduring years under Hitler, he knew that he had to get back to the newly formed West Germany. Fortunately, he had found his 1st grade report card from his elementary school in Munich, and this was literally his ticket to the West since it proved that he had lived there before WW2 began.
He graduated from a Munich Gymnasium (the German equivalent of high school which requires passing the rigorous Abitur exam) in 1950, and he remained in contact with many of his classmates until he passed, having gone back for countless reunions over the decades. His favorite teacher, Dr. Schuh, encouraged him to apply for a scholarship to attend college in the United States. He applied, was accepted, and loved to tell the story of what felt like winning the lottery as he and 250 other German Gymnasium graduates were chosen to study for one year in America. He spent one year at Wabash College in Indiana, and he made lifelong friends there as they attended classes and, more importantly, traveled the country by car. His randomly-assigned roommate was a gentleman named Hudson Cattell from Lancaster PA, and they stayed in contact after Volker moved back to West Germany to complete his journalism studies at the University of Munich. While traveling together through Italy in 1955, Hudson asked Volker if he wanted to return to the United States. Hudson's uncle owned a printing company in Lancaster and he hired Volker, sight unseen, with a one-year working contract. Volker went on to work for that company, Science Press, for 45 years; more importantly, he met the love of his life there, Grace, who predeceased him in 2012. He retired from his role as VP of Sales and Marketing for Science Press in 2000.
Volker took an early interest in journalism, working for a newspaper in Bavaria, Germany as a young man. He never lost his zeal for storytelling, going on to describe his family's struggle to survive WWII on WCCO Radio in the Twin Cities. From resisting Nazi rule to narrowly avoiding death at the hands of a Russian firing squad during the summer of 1945, Volker described the nearly supernatural chain of events that allowed him to emigrate to America, where he became a proud US citizen in 1960. He told thousands of stories and anecdotes to his children, colleagues, and printing clients; his remarkable life experience is being turned into a forthcoming novel: "You Can Always Shoot Us After Dinner: A Memoir of Resilience and Resistance" with life lessons that apply today.
A perpetual optimist always trying to make things better for everyone in his orbit, Volker will be missed by all who knew him. He is survived by a sister, Sigrid Kruhoeffer, in Freiburg Germany; a son, Kent Kruhoeffer, in Phnom Penh Cambodia; a son Douglas (his wife Laurie) Kruhoeffer, daughter and devoted caregiver Joan Kruhoeffer, grandsons Walter (his wife Tracy) Kruhoeffer and Brett (with wife Karla) Kruhoeffer, and great grandsons Jordan and Lucas Kruhoeffer, all living in the Twin Cities.
The family wishes to thank the staff of Bent Creek Country Club for their kindness over the past two decades, the Emergency Department team of M Health Fairview Hospital in Edina for their compassionate care, as well as Marisa and Lindsay at Juniper Apartments in Minnetrista for making Volker's move to Minnesota seamless.
As a lifelong advocate for refugees and immigrants, Volker's final wish is that anyone seeking to pay tribute to him would give generously to Church World Service in Lancaster PA; their budget was recently slashed by the current administration in Washington DC. Please donate at https://cwslancaster.org/donate/
Formerly of Lititz, Leola, and Lancaster Pennsylvania, Volker Kruhoeffer rejoined his beloved wife, Grace, after a very brief illness on August 2, 2025. He passed peacefully in Edina Minnesota, surrounded by his family.
Born in Hannover Germany in August 1930, Volker lived a remarkable life full of adventure, music, resistance,