Elizabeth Kraus

To view the livestream funeral service of Mrs. Elizabeth Kraus on

Saturday, February 04, 2023, at 10:00 AM,

please click the link below:

https://youtube.com/live/KBKnq11PBRc?feature=share

UNIONTOWN - Elizabeth Kraus went home to be with our Lord on January 17, 2023.

She was born Lisbeth Schmolke, on February 17, 1929, to Karl and Gertrud Schmolke of Mannsdorf, Germany. She grew up on the family farm with sisters, Maria, Gretel, and Gerda. She met Hans (John) Kraus while playing sports in the town of Ebrach in 1949. They were engaged on Christmas Day in 1950, and married on October 9, 1953. They resided in Ansbach, Germany, while working for the United States Army at the European Signal School in Ansbach. They were sponsored to the United States by an American army colonel in 1956, arriving in New York on the SS United States in February of that year. In August of 1956, the couple relocated to Cleveland, Ohio, and then to Akron, Ohio, in 1957, with a job transfer for the General Electric Company. The couple bought their first home in Munroe Falls in 1959, and lived there until 1998. Elizabeth earned her U.S. citizenship in November of 1961.

Elizabeth was a homemaker and the mother of four children. She kept a strict schedule, a tidy home, and she enjoyed baking kasekuchen, apfelkuchen, and a myriad of Christmas cookies. She was a talented seamstress and a passionate gardener, creating clothing for her children and canning a good portion of the fruits and vegetables that she grew in her gardens. She also planted and grew a variety of roses, and occasionally grumbled about the beetles that continually threatened to destroy her plants.

She modeled a love of reading for her children, and she nurtured that love by taking her crew to the local public library to check out books. She was lucky at fishing, often hooking the bigger catch of the day. One of her lesser-known talents was her ability to draw. She could sketch the most amazing pictures of Jesus.

Elizabeth was predeceased by her mother and father; her sister, Maria, and her husband of 44 years, John Kraus. She is survived by sisters, Gretel and Gerda (Lutz); daughters, Ingrid Fisher (John), Carol McLeish (Ben), and Linda Roberts (Bob), and son, Norm Kraus (Terri). “Oma” leaves behind nine grandchildren: Steven Fisher (Amber), Lindsay Jarvis (Andy), Ryan Roberts, Lauren Semelsberger (Daniel), Chelsea Starr (Ian), Taylor Kuzma, Kyle McLeish (Jackie), Alex Kraus, and Laney Kraus, as well as eight great-grandchildren: Aidan Fisher, Charlotte Fisher, Elliott Starr, Rhys Starr, Evelyn Starr, Baby Starr #4, Caroline McLeish, and Charlotte McLeish. Additionally, she is also survived by many nieces and nephews still living in Germany.

The family would like to thank the Gables of Green Assisted Living and Memory Care and Traditions Hospice for the loving care provided over the course of Elizabeth’s illness.

The family will receive friends on Friday, February 3, from 5 to 7 PM, at Redmon Funeral Home, 3633 Darrow Road, Stow 44224. Mass of the Christian Burial will be held Saturday, February 4, at 10 AM at Holy Family Catholic Church, 3179 Kent Road, Stow 44224, Fr. Michael McCandless celebrant. Burial will follow at Chestnut Hill Memorial Park in Cuyahoga Falls.

Memorials may may be made in Elizabeth’s name to the Alzheimer’s Association , 225 North Michigan Avenue, Floor #17, Chicago, IL  60601.