Robert D. Kraehe

Robert D. Kraehe A longtime manager of a Vallejo Street cooperative building, died unexpectedly at his home on December 23, 2006. Mr. Kraehe was born in St. Louis, MO, on April 2, 1927, son of Enno and Amelia Kraehe. He attended St. Louis public schools and became an Eagle Boy Scout, and during WWII enlisted for hazardous duty in the U.S. Merchant Marines. At the end of the war he earned a BA degree from the University of Missouri and a master's degree from Northwestern University's demanding journalism program. His early career in journalism began with U.S. Air Force public relations work in Florida and continued in Detroit where when he edited a Ford Motor Co. house organ. He then moved to Northern California, where he was to make his home for the rest of his life. In San Francisco, he eventually worked in public relations for the budding Bay Area Rapid Transit system, known to its local riders as BART. His favorite story about those early days involved a test run of a train he always referred to as the "Fremont Flyer." A group of local celebrities had assembled on the platform to greet the first train on its arrival; the train arrived on schedule, all right, but failed to stop, jumped its tracks, and landed in a parking lot. In the remaining years of his life Mr. Kraehe discovered a new and absorbing career in buying selling, trading, managing, and rehabilitating properties, concluding with a major remodeling of his own dwelling quarters which was reaching its completion at the untimely date of his death. Mr. Kraehe is survived by a brother, Enno Kraehe of Charlottesville, VA; a sister, Gloria Whitehead of Santa Clara, CA; two nieces, Claudia Kraehe of San Francisco and Sally Whitehead of Milpitas, CA; and Bill and Doug Whitehead of Prairie Village, KS, and Denver, CO, respectively. A small family gathering is scheduled for New Year's Day to be followed at a later date by a memorial service aboard a boat which will carry out Mr. Kraehe's wishes to have his ashes scattered at sea. Contact his niece Claudia Kraehe, 415/648-3331 for further details. Memorial donations may be made to the Salvation Army, Attn: Peter, 1500 Valencia, SF, CA 94110, 415-643-8000.