Henry "Hank" G. Krausse Jr.

Henry G. Hank Krausse Jr., born Oct. 6, 1923, passed away May 2, 2009 at age 85. He was a native of Brownsville and son of the late Henry G. and Otila Crixell Krausse. He graduated from St. Josephs Academy in 1939, attended St. Marys University in San Antonio and received his B.A. from The University of Texas at Austin. The U.S. Army assigned him to the Japanese Language School at the University of Michigan and Fort Snelling, Minnesota, where he was commissioned a second lieutenant and served in the military intelligence branch in the Army of Occupation of Japan.

His diary describes his falling in love with Japan from the moment he arrived in 1946, first trying out his knowledge of the language when swarmed by kids in villages It gave us great satisfaction to be able to converse with them All in all Im thrilled with the country and noting its beauty and wartime destruction, including Hiroshima, whose ruins were miles of flat rubble Really one of the saddest sights Ive ever seen.

He joined the U.S. Foreign Service State Department in 1947 and, returning to Japan in the early 1950s, met Rita Evelyn Boch of Cumberland, Md., a secretary at the U.S. consulate in Nagoya. They were married in 1953 in Veracruz, Mexico. Besides Japan, he served in Aruba, Mexico, Argentina, Washington, D.C., the Philippines, El Salvador and Brazil. As he and Rita raised five kids, he played the violin, enjoyed carpentry and loved a good round of golf -- especially in the Philippines, where he lost an occasional ball to cobras in the rough.

Retiring in Brownsville in 1973, he was for several years an IRS Taxpayer Service Representative and later a volunteer with the agencys VITA Program.

For years, Dad worked with local activists who came to include Rita who greatly expanded scholarship and popular interest in local history. He served on the boards of the Brownsville Historical Association, the Cameron County Historical Commission and the Historic Brownsville Museum Association.

He was active in the Kiwanis Club of Brownsville, the Serra Club, which promotes Catholic vocations, the National Association of Retired Federal Employees, Camille Lightner Playhouse and SCORE. He delighted in helping organize an Elderhostel tour of Brownsville in the 1990s.

He was a longtime and active member of St. Marys Parish.

He was preceded in death by Rita, his wife of almost 52 years.

He is survived by his daughters, Maria T. Terry Krausse of San Antonio, Monica A. Krausse Robert Ray Roberts of El Paso, Margaret H. Frank Trevino of Houston, and sons Henry G. Krausse III of San Antonio and John J. Krausse of Brownsville, as well as a grandson, Henry G. Gus Krausse, a brother-in-law, two sisters-in-law, three nieces and two nephews.

The family would like to thank the caring staff of Alamo Hospice and Barton House in San Antonio for the wonderful care they gave Dad. Memorial contributions may be made to the Historic Brownsville Museum, the Brownsville Historical Association, the Alzheimers Association or any charity of your choice.

Visitation will be 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday at Darling Mouser Funeral Home, with a rosary to be recited at 7 p.m. Funeral Mass will be at St. Marys Church at 1 p.m., with burial to follow at Buena Vista Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Henry G. Krausse III, John J. Krausse, Frank Trevino, John Champion, Ben Neece and Robert Vezzetti.
ests4all.org1'acupuncture a

Visitation

DarlingMouser Funeral Home
945 Palm Blvd.
Brownsville, TX  78520
Friday, May 8, 2009
4:30 to 9 p.m.

Service

Rosary

DarlingMouser Funeral Home
945 Palm Blvd.
Brownsville, TX  78520
Friday, May 8, 2009
7:00 p.m.

Mass

St. Mary Mother of the Church
1914 Barnard Road
Brownsville, TX  78520
Saturday, May 9, 2009
1 p.m.

Cemetery

Buena Vista Burial Park
5 McDavitt Blvd.
Brownsville, TX  78521

Memorial Contributions

Historic Brownsville Museum
641 East Madison St.
Brownsville, TX  78520

Brownsville Historical Association
1325 East Washington St.
Brownsville, TX  78520