Milton Krause

On Monday, July 20th, 2020, Milton Emil Krause, Jr devoted husband, father and grandfather, and friend to many went home to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at the age of 89.

Milt, as he liked to be called, was born on March 29th, 1931 in Johnstown, PA to Milton and Ellen (Fuller) Krause. Thus began the journey…

Milt, an excellent athlete who was an All-Star player for basketball and football (both offense and defense), led his high school team to the state championship. He loved all sports except hockey until he met his neighbor, Big John, the goaltender for the Ice Flyers. Drafted into the Korean War after high school, Milt was sent off to Korea to “make the Krause family proud”.  He would often talk about his time in the war with great pride.  With no experience, he was made a medic working in a MASH tent a mere mile behind the front line.  He was so good at it, the 16 doctors were so impressed, most of them tried to get him to get him to come work for them back in the states.  Milt wasn’t going to do that: he had a beauty of a girl waiting for him at home, Marian.  After the war, Milt worked along with his father at Metropolitan Life.  He had a strong Christian faith and work ethic which he instilled in his children and grandchildren.

Milt married the love of his life, Marian Ruby Flockerzi on October 1, 1955.  They settled in Camp Hill, PA and had two children, Bryan and Linda, of whom he was extremely proud.

Milt was incredibly devoted to Marian, who suffered for nine years with Alzheimer’s.  He insisted she stay in their home until the end of her life.  He doted on his “Honey Bun”, Marian, and when she could no longer climb the stairs to their bedroom, he put a bed next to hers in the family room to be close to her.  Milt was by her side when she took her last breath.  It is with a heavy heart that his family couldn’t be by his side when he took his.

Milt loved TV—in fact, when he came back from Korea, his sisters remember him buying the family their first television set! In his later years, you could usually find him enjoying ESPN, Fox News, The Hallmark Channel, and Classic movie channels. He discovered his new favorite TV channel—Youtube—where he was able to reconnect with favorite performers like Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, and all the big bands. He was an avid reader of newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal. If he didn’t have 3-4 different newspapers to enjoy throughout the day, he felt he was missing something.

Milt was a man of strong faith, serving as head usher at Christ Presbyterian Church in Camp Hill, PA for many years. After moving to Pensacola Beach, Florida in 2016, he was welcomed by the community at Gulf Breeze United Methodist Church. He loved a party and could throw one instantly if he found out there was a birthday or any reason to celebrate.  He enjoyed people and loved “holding court” in the garage of his beach townhouse where his neighbors and friends could come and visit.  Milt loved helping other people. He was the type who never met a stranger. He would give you the shirt off his back or the last dollar in his wallet.

For the last 4 years, his nursing care has been provided by NurseSpring. We are especially grateful for his caregivers, who he loved as his own family. His most recent caregivers include Tiki Harris, Morgan Cavender, Priscilla Guerra, Katrina Nettles, and Melissa Adams.

We want to offer a special thank you to all of the incredible people at Gulf Breeze Hospital who fought day-in and day-out to extend his life, some of whom include:

Dr. Benjamin Lloyd, Cardiologist
Dr. Mike Dolister, Emergency Medicine
Dr. Sangeeta Patel, Hospitalist
Dr. John Wade, Pulmonologist
Dr. Ted Matthews, Hospitalist
Dr. Allen Lee, Hospitalist
ICU Nurses (to name a few): Axel, Justin, Dan, Elizabeth, Anastasia, Jennifer, Christine, Alex, Michelle

In addition to the amazing team at Gulf Breeze Hospital, we would like to personally thank Dr. Logan Richards, his primary care physician; Dr. Don Colbert, his family doctor in Orlando, FL; Dr. Guillermo Navarrete (nutritionist), Miami, FL; Master Co, California; James Bowman, Washington State.

We also want to thank the following pastors for their care during his life: Rev. Dan Morris, Pastor Shawn York, Pastor Nathan Pooley, and Rev. Ellen True.

The second of six children, he is survived by siblings Sarah Focke, Sue Ellen Holcroft, and Bill Krause, and joins sisters Barbara Gordon and Mary Jane Burdette as well as parents Milton Sr. and Ellen Krause in going home to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. His son, Bryan, currently resides on Pensacola Beach, FL. His daughter, Linda, married Francisco Marroquin and lives in New Cumberland, PA along with their children, Carlos and Patty. Carlos is married to Christine and they have had four children: Carlos, Jr, Brittany, Emily, and Courtney, all of whom reside in central Pennsylvania.

Services will be held both in Florida and Pennsylvania. The first will take place on Saturday, July 25th at Gulf Breeze United Methodist Church in Gulf Breeze, FL (4:00 visitation; 5:00 Memorial Service). The Pennsylvania visitation will be held at Parthemore Funeral Home in New Cumberland, PA on Friday, July 31st, 6:00-8:00 pm, with burial taking place at Rolling Green Cemetery in New Cumberland on Saturday, August 1st at 10:15 am.

In lieu of flowers, Milt would be honored for donations to be made to the Trump 2020 campaign.