Catherine M (Kay) Krause (nee Movrich) Passed away on January 30, 2021 at the age of 102.  Beloved wife of the late Benedict Krause.  Loving mother of Katherine (Kitty) Leu and Robert Krause (Ravelle Garcia).  Preceded in death by sons Joseph Krause (Linda Pinter-Krause) and Richard Krause.  Further survived by grandchildren Debby (Dennis) Monahan, Steve (Mim Lenk), Tammy Leu and Ivy (Jamie) Leverence and great-grandchildren Tara and Tesse Monahan, Christopher (Devan) Leu, Connor Leu, Gretchen Leu and Samantha Leverence. Further survived by sisters JoAnn Rudolph, Louise Billings and Angie Cvengros.  Predeceased by sisters Marge Sitar, Mary Ann Vukusich, Ann Bukowski, Betty Vanderwerff, Rose Nugent and brothers John, Matt, Micky, Bobby, Peter and Marko Movrich.  Further survived and loved by many nieces, nephews and friends. Private services to be held.  In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the charity of your choice.   Catherine Mary Movrich was born on April 16, 1918 at 505 Kennedy Street in Ironwood, Michigan.  Catherine (Kay) was the second child of John Movrich and Anna Jelich.  Kay attended grade school at St. Anthony's in Park Falls, Wisconsin.  At the age of 13, she got a job washing dishes in a restaurant in Park Falls.  Kay moved to Milwaukee at the age of 16 and became a file clerk at Allis Chalmers in West Allis, Wisconsin.  When she was 21, Kay took a job at the U.S. Post Office in Milwaukee to help with the Christmas rush.  Between the mail bags at the Post Office, Kay met Ben Krause, a Special Delivery carrier.  Kay remembers that Ben would flirt with her and that she was not at all impressed with him.  But after some convincing by Ben, Kay realized her deep love for him.  Kay and Ben were married on April 20, 1940.  By the way, Kay's mother was unable to attend her eldest daughter's wedding – she was in the hospital giving birth to her youngest child, JoAnn.   Kay and Ben went on to have four children, Katherine (Kitty), Joseph, Robert and Richard who died in infancy.  Kitty married Jim Leu and moved to California.  Joe married Linda Pinter.  The family has now grown to include grandchildren Debby Monahan and her husband Dennis, Steve Leu and his wife Mim Lenk, Tammy Leu, and Ivy Leverence and her husband Jamie, as well as great-grandchildren Christopher Leu and his wife Devan, Connor Leu, Tara Monahan, Tesse Monahan, Gretchen Leu and Samantha Leverence and Bob's significant other Ravelle Garcia.   Kay was a homemaker and enjoyed cooking and baking.  She won several blue ribbons at the Wisconsin State Fair for her carrot cake, potato salad and other delicious creations.  In the mid 1950's, Kay returned to restaurant work, taking a part time job at Scherkenbach's Restaurant in Milwaukee.  In addition to her part time work, Kay and Ben were very active in their church parish, St. Mary's in South Milwaukee.  Ben was a member of the Holy Name Society and an usher at the 6:00 a.m. Mass every Sunday.  Kay organized the first rummage sale for the church and became known as the "Rummage Queen."   Kay and Ben moved to Oak Creek in the 1950's.  There on their 5-acre property they had a few chickens and some geese, as well as various dogs and cats.  As Bobby got older, two horses were added to the family of animals.  Kay was often seen running down Rawson Avenue, chasing dogs or horses that had escaped their pens.   In the 1960's, Ben became the first Postmaster of the City of Oak Creek.  Kay worked part time for the Internal Revenue Service.  Postmaster Conventions allowed for travel throughout the United States.  Many friendships were made during this time, and these friendships remain to this day.  Since Ben's death in May of 1974, Kay continued her travels with the Postmasters.  She has visited all 50 states, as well as Hong Kong and Mexico.  Kay also traveled to Croatian tamburitza concerts throughout the United States. From 1978 through the 1980's and 1990's, Kay was instrumental in the success of her son Bob's restaurant, at that time named Roberts.  "Ma" brought her recipe for deviled eggs and her special talent for making soups.  No matter what ingredients she combined, the soup was delicious.  Kay retired from Roberts in 2002.  But she definitely did not retire from life and was always raring to go.   Kay loved her family more than anything.  Her last words were "tell my family I love them all."  Kay's great-niece Ammber King eloquently paid tribute to her great-aunt Kay as follows: "The Movrich family has suffered a tremendous loss.  Kay Movrich Krause went to be with the Lord on January 30th, 2021, just a few months shy of her 103rd birthday. Auntie Kay was a remarkable woman, who possessed a zest for life that never faltered. Though her body had begun to slow, her mind remained sharp as a tack, even through surviving COVID at 102 (a feat which landed her on the news!). Auntie Kay had a love for many things... Cooking.  She was an award-winning cook! Her recipes were even published in the newspaper! And she still had clippings of her published recipes from years past! The State Fair.  She never missed a Fair, except when it was cancelled all together. You would always find her seated outside Robert's (her son, Bobby's restaurant), or in the dairy barn, where she loved to look at the cows (especially the calves!). She even made the news a few years back, when she was transported to the Fair by ambulance, just so she could do what she loved so very much. Her Croatian heritage.  Auntie Kay traveled all over with MCT, as she loved her Tamburitzans so very much. You would always see her at the MCT Christmas Party, and even helping at the yearly cookie bake. And of course, she never missed making an appearance at our annual Croatian Day Festival, where you would often find her selling tickets to our patrons. She loved the food, she loved the time with family, and she loved the music.  Sinovi.  Auntie Kay loved her Sinovi so very much. Especially when they personally serenaded her with "Only You". Her eyes never shined as bright as when she was in front of the stage at Croatian Fest, swaying to the sound of her beloved Sinovi. Her family.  Of all of Auntie Kay's loves, her love for her family was unsurpassed. From birthday and holiday cards sent, to phone calls, to personal visits. Auntie Kay always made sure to stay in contact with all of those that she loved so dearly. When asked what her secret to living such a long life was, Auntie Kay would respond, "Eating a raw onion every day. And my family".  Auntie Kay was truly the matriarch of the Movrich family, and she touched so many lives. We are so thankful for all of the love and life that she gave to all of those that she loved. . . .    We will miss you, Auntie Kay." For years Reader's Digest had a column entitled "My Most Unforgettable Character."  That was Kay to most people who knew her.  She had a knack for being in the right place at the right time.   Last spring as we were isolating due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kay was diagnosed with the virus.  She never let on how ill she really felt and when she tested negative, she was moved from quarantine at her living facility to another room.  Of course she appeared on the local news – "102 Year Old Woman Survives COVID!"  Linda Krause, Joey's widow, lives near Raleigh, North Carolina.  She conveyed that in mid-May she had the tv on, tuned to the national news on the Raleigh station.  A story was being played regarding elderly survivors of COVID in nursing homes.  Linda heard the name "Catherine Krause of Milwaukee, Wisconsin" and thought No, how many can there be.  Sure enough, she looked up at the tv in time to see Kay tootling down the hallway in her wheelchair!  So Kay made the local AND national news.  She is amazing!   In 1995, Jim Stingl, a columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper, interviewed Kay.  His article appeared in the paper as follows: ". . . She has subscribed to The Milwaukee Journal and the Journal Sentinel for something like 76 years. She clips and saves articles she especially likes. And recently, after a burst of spring cleaning at her South Milwaukee apartment, she sent three old articles back here to the mother ship along with a letter to me. "I just could not throw them away," she explained. "Maybe you can print them again." Now there's someone who loves newspapers, and a person I wanted to meet while two important dates approach here at my workplace.  Next week Thursday is the 20th anni¬versary of the afternoon Journal's merg¬er with the morning Milwaukee Sentinel to create a single daily paper here. And next Wednesday -- April Fools' Day, though I'm pretty sure that's a coincidence — is the closing date of a merger that finds the Journal Sentinel joining E.W. Scripps Co.'s newspapers in 13 markets to form a new company based in Milwaukee, Journal Media Group. We're spinning off from our broadcast division of Journal Communications as these TV and radio stations merge with Scripps stations in a Cincinnati-based company. Kay has read about all that, but she's mainly interested in the newspaper showing up every morning at her door. She reads it "cover to cover," she said. No computers for her. I called her last week to invite myself over. I told her the three clippings had arrived safely at my desk along with her letter, which was written on a scrap of recycled junk mail because many people of Kay's generation don't like wasting paper or anything else. "P.S. I will be 97 in April," she wrote. As best I can tell, the articles are all from the 1980s or thereabouts. One is a list of 43 Wisconsin communities and their capital nicknames like Bloomer: "Rope Jumping Capital of the World" and Siren: "Lilac Capital of Wisconsin." Another with the top cut off I think is a Dear Abby column that prints the transcript of a wise judge sentencing a young man in a drug case. And the third is a magazine supplement piece about the brevity of life and not waiting for special occasions to use our better china, clothing and such. Over the years, many readers have contacted me, and I'm sure my colleagues, to ask if we want old newspapers back, especially historic front pages. We have all that stuff in our archives of course, but perhaps we could use a spare, people think. Kay met me at the front door of her apartment building. She may be the youngest 96-year-old I've met. She converses comfortably and remembers dates, addresses and other facts with ease. She still drives to church and to the grocery store in her 1992 Duster with 35,000 miles on it, and she still travels alone by air. Her son, Robert, sat in on the interview, and even though he owns a restaurant where Kay cooked for 28 years (Roberts, 4301 S. Howell Ave., now known as On the Clock Bar & Grill) she had made him two-breaded pork chops to take home so he wouldn't go hungry. The second oldest of 15 kids, Kay told me she met her future husband, Ben, while working together at the post office. Ben became postmaster of Oak Creek where they lived, and she took a job at the Internal Revenue Service. Ben died too young in 1974. Kay also has outlived two of their four children and nearly all of her friends, which brings us back to newspapers. "I just threw away 420 death notices that I accumulated through the years. There's so many things that mean something to me, but not to anybody else," she said. "When I'm gone, my daughter from California is going to come and throw everything out. Who would want this stuff?" Kay is busy pulling together items – her own and her neighbors' – for the next rummage sale in May at her church, Divine Mercy Parish. And she was not about to let me get away without sending along other newspapers she has saved, including front pages from the end of World War II, the big Milwaukee blizzard of 1947, the 9/11 terrorist attacks and others.  I told her I'd give the yellowed papers a home, but I can't guarantee what happens to them when my time comes." Kay subscribed to the newspaper until her death.  And although her eyesight was failing, she still read the paper cover to cover every day. To celebrate her 100th birthday in April 2018, her family held a two-day party for her – Milwaukee experienced a late winter snowstorm that weekend.  The party was held anyway.  For her 101st birthday party, another late winter storm hit Milwaukee.  The party still went on.  Last year, the COVID-19 pandemic curtailed a family gathering but we had hope that we could celebrate her 103rd birthday this year.   During her 100th birthday celebration, Kay's family visited some of Milwaukee's tourist spots, for example, the Harley Museum.  Kay, as usual, exhibited her spark for life!  The family also visited the Pfister Hotel where Kay was named the Guest Relations Director's honored guest.  Kay and her family were given a tour that most people never experience.  The following article was posted on the Pfister's website: "It is a struggle find the right way to introduce Kay Krause. Do I call her "the award-winning cook" with seven blue ribbons to back the claim? Or do introduce her as "the Rummage Queen of South Milwaukee," as she is known throughout the city's southside Catholic community? Perhaps "Roll 'em Roll 'ern" as her fellow Tamburitza enthusiasts call her. I met this special lady with many monikers when she was Guest Relations Director, Ken Gjika's, honored guest. Ken invited the lively firecracker of a woman to the hotel to enjoy a bit of the Pfister magic on her 101st birthday. Sharp and sassy, she recounted the times in her life she has been in the hotel for weddings and performances, recalling her attendance at a Red Skelton show in the lounge and fondly remembered being in the audience to hear Hildegarde, the hometown girl who went on to become an international singing sensation. The hotel, and Wisconsin Avenue, have long been a part of Kay's life, as she spent much of her career employed at the Federal Building across the street, working first for the US Post Office, and later for the IRS. Kay moved to Milwaukee when she was 16 years old and was soon employed at Allis Chalmers. Later in 1935, she joined the staff of the Post Office to assist with the holiday rush. It was there, between two mailbags that she met the man who would become her husband, Ben. The pair exchanged smiles at work, but it was a rainy night and a delayed streetcar that began the courtship. Kay and a friend had just exited a Perry Como concert into a downpour. The girls, wearing their best dresses and freshly coifed hair, were without an umbrella. As they stood under an awning, debating the best way to get home, a car-full of young men from the Post Office, including Ben, drove up and offered the girls a ride home. Ben was a good-looking man, whose resemblance to Fred Astaire was highlighted by his penchant for dapper attire. After years of courting that began on that rainy night, the couple married when Kay was 22 years old and the pair went on to have four children.   Working hard to raise her family, Kay also made time for her faith. Active in her parish and a devoted member of Christian Mothers, she was an energetic volunteer who introduced and organized fund-raising rummage sales for her church. The night owl also taught polka-hop and tap dancing, during the little free time she managed to find. The lively lady loves music and her Croatian heritage. If a tamburitza orchestra is playing, Kay will be there, dancing and keeping the party going. She is such a fan of the traditional folk music that her favorite group, Sarena Tamburitza Orchestra, came to Milwaukee to perform at On the Clock for her 101st birthday party. Her talent for cooking is a gift she has shared throughout her life. In the kitchen for countless church bazaars, funerals, and other gatherings, she developed quite a list of often-requested favorites. Some of those special dishes went on to become blue-ribbon winning recipes, including her apple turnovers, banana bread, carrot cake and liver pate. Her family still requests her special "funeral casserole," a hearty dish that contains sauerkraut, cream of mushroom soup, pork steak and noodles. So beloved was her cooking that when her son opened his restaurant a month after his mother retired, he asked her to cook with him. She offered to work with him for a year. In that role, she became a master of 28 homemade soups, all accompanied by one of her celebrated deviled eggs. Her time in his kitchen stretched far beyond the year she initially promised to invest in the restaurant. She would later hang up her apron for good when she turned 86. Her second retirement was not the beginning of a restful time for her, as one might expect. The active lady drove until she was 98 and is still in the kitchen busily making dumplings and other favorite recipes from her collection today. When asked what she attributes her longevity to, she suggested it is a combination of her favorite salad: sweet onions covered in bleu cheese dressing, and her volunteerism. As for the future, she prays for continued good health and remains grateful for her blessings, including her loving children and grandchildren. Reminiscing about her husband, she shared that before a night on the town, her Ben would always say, "now Kay, please behave tonight." To the delight of all who know her, she is still not following that directive. If you see Kay around town, be sure to wish her a very happy 101st year. Cheers, Kay, to many more happy, healthy, and sassy years!" Kay had the most optimistic attitude of anyone we knew.  No matter what life threw at her, she just shrugged her shoulders and did what she needed to.  Definitely our most unforgettable character!  Mom, Grandma, Auntie, Friend – you will be missed.   May your memory be a blessing.  Rest in peace. Prasser-Kleczka Funeral Home Bay View Chapel 3275 S. Howell Avenue 414-483-2322