Carl Radley Krause

“They say that we all live our lives in phases. I’m not sure if we really know when we move from one phase to the next. There are no signposts to tell us when it happens.” Carl R. Krause, 1997, Close Encounters of the British Kind

Carl Radley Krause was born in Santa Monica California on Wednesday October 17th 1934 to parents Carl Reginald “Reg” and Alice Krause. During the 1930’s the world found itself in chaos. Despite the hard times, Carl was able to enjoy his youth in and around the family’s small house in Long Beach California. He was later joined by his first sister Gloria and his second sister Jacque. Reg and Alice both worked to support the war effort so the gravity of the world situation was well known to them, but the three children were carefree, able to play in their large backyard and just be kids. When Carl was 18, the three siblings were joined by a forth, little sister Vicki.

Carl attended elementary school and high school in Long Beach. In junior high school, he met Marilyn Sprague. The two remained friends throughout high school and when they both attended the same college, they started dating. “Some good things take time” Carl said. Carl married Marilyn on June 25th, 1955. In July of the following year, their first child was born, a daughter named Bonnie Sue.

Carl started his career at Douglas Aircraft, following in his father’s footsteps in the aviation industry. Carl’s work efforts focused on the manufacturing floor as a Numerical Control Engineer. This field concentrated on the use of computers to cut and shape the parts to be used in airplanes. He spent his entire 42 year career at Douglas Aircraft and later Boeing advancing this specialty. His efforts contributed to the advancement of computer automated design and manufacturing, a field of engineering that is taken for granted today.

In November 1957, Carl, Marilyn and Bonnie moved into their new house in Garden Grove, California. Three months later Brian Scott was born. Commuting from Garden Grove, Carl continued his work at Douglas while earning his bachelor’s degree in Engineering at California State University Long Beach. In June 1969, the family celebrated “Graduation Month” with Carl graduating from CSULB, Bonnie graduating from junior high school, and Brian graduating from elementary school. Suddenly finding much more free time, Carl took his wife and two kids on a long planned 9,000 mile trip across the United States in their new family camper. This was one of the first among many outings in that same camper. Before long, the rig included a new ski boat

and many weekends waterskiing at the Colorado River followed. In 1987, Carl upgraded his ride to a 27 foot motorhome. Although the kids were now focused on their careers and not able to ride along every time, Carl and Marilyn continued their camping trips at campgrounds throughout California and across the United States.

That house on Brookshire Avenue remained their home until 1990 when Carl and Marilyn “took the plunge” and moved from Garden Grove to Enumclaw Washington, a small farming and ranching town near the base of Mount Rainier. They bought four acres of land and lived in the motorhome while their “forest home” was under construction. In March 1991, the construction was complete and they moved in. From their new base, Carl and Marilyn toured their new surroundings in the Pacific Northwest often rummaging through antique shops and swap meets for furniture and collectables for their new home.

In 1997, Carl retired from Boeing. With even more free time on his hands, he could now focus on his passion for cars. He loved all cars, from his very first car, the “Red Rattler”, to his 1958 Triumph TR3A. The TR3A was a restoration project that lasted four years. In his barn at the forest home, he would spend hours working on the car, lovingly scraping off the rust, repairing broken hoses, and installing parts that he had received in the mail. He finished the restoration in 2002 and joined the Tyee Triumph Club of Washington. With the club, Carl and Marilyn traveled around Washington State, attended car rallies, and showed the shiny yellow car at car shows. The longer trips became great opportunities to shop at antique stores and indulge in Carl’s second passion, collecting memories. Space was limited in the little car, but they still found room for plenty of antique souvenirs right next to the spare car parts that any Triumph owner must carry when going on a long trip.

Carl and Marilyn loved living in their forest home and after almost 20 years, it was landscaped and decorated just the way they wanted it. They had a place for all of the antiques that they had collected, Marilyn had a large garden, and Carl had a barn workshop where he could tinker with his cars and ensure the motorhome was ready for the next trip. But at 75 years old, Carl found maintaining such a large piece of property difficult. There was always worry that one of the large trees would fall on the house or barn. In fact, a couple of them did and some significant repairs to the house were necessary. Feeling the need to downsize, Carl and Marilyn made the largest antique purchase of their lifetime. It was a 110 year old church in downtown Enumclaw.

Downsizing from a large house on four acres to a small church in town was hard, but they found a way to make nearly everything fit. Although the motorhome and the boat did not make the cut, Carl found enough room inside for the antiques and outside for a new garage for his cars including a little workshop where he could maintain them.

As “that couple that lives in the little old church”, Carl and Marilyn loved their life in Enumclaw. They became good friends with their neighbors who watched the property for them as they continued to make frequent trips down to Southern California to visit the kids and grandkids. Still active in the car club, they continued the road rallies with the church as home base. They were lucky to be surrounded with good friends that had common interests and also didn’t mind Carl’s cautious, slow and steady driving style. Carl’s Triumph was named “Patience” because that is what is required when taking a road trip in a 55 year old car. His 1954 MGTF was

named “Prudence” and rarely saw more than short trips to the local Starbucks. Carl loved to park

the cars where they could be seen so as to strike up a conversation with others about the cars they owned in their past.

Life in the little church was good to them for many years. Eventually Carl found that he needed more and more help maintaining his home or getting to and from the doctors and dentists. His neighbors and close friends were always there to help out, but it was a lot to ask. A senior care facility was more in line with their needs. They packed up once again and a small senior community in Auburn became their new home.

If there were signposts that mark the passage from one life phase to another, this signpost would have marked a hard turn in Carl’s life. His new home did not provide storage for his little British cars. There was no workshop where he could organize his tools, no place to change the oil, no place to adjust the carburetors, no place to polish the chrome. Carl was almost as pragmatic as he was sentimental, but this change was a tough one. He had to say goodbye to Patience and Prudence.

Years ago when Carl was a teen driving the roads around Long Beach in his Red Rattler, he dreamed of owning a classic sports car. In his dream he would cruise the open roads with his best friend at his side. Through the windshield he would see the beauty of his country. At the rest stops, he would be surrounded by like-minded friends who would laugh with him and exchange stories about the journey they were sharing. Each evening, he would stop someplace for the night and park his little sports car where people would see it in the hopes that they would stop and tell stories about the little car that they had in their past.

It had worked out exactly as Carl had planned. He had lived his dream.

One final move took Carl and Marilyn full circle, back to Southern California where they could be closer to family. They moved into Sunrise Senior Living in Seal Beach. It was just a short drive from Bonnie’s house. With just a phone call, Bonnie was there to take them shopping or to a doctor’s appointment. Brian lived close enough to come for visits and treat them to lunch. While they tried desperately to maintain their independence, the caregivers at Sunrise became a necessity.

Then 2020 happened. Fearing a COVID-19 outbreak in the community, Sunrise limited family visits to just a half hour on the porch, physically distanced, with no hugs and chatting with each other through masks. In December what was feared in the spring actually happened. Despite a tremendous effort from the people Sunrise, a COVID-19 outbreak hit the community hard. Both Carl and Marilyn tested positive for COVID-19 in mid-December. On December 27th Marilyn lost her battle with the virus. Carl was by her side when she passed. Two days later, on the morning of December 29th, Carl took his last breath. He left this earth to be with his wife.

Carl is survived by his daughter Bonnie, his son Brian, grandsons Daniel, Levi, and Tanner, great grandson Luca, his sisters Gloria, Jacque, and Vicki, and his two little British cars Patience and Prudence.

A note from Carl’s son:

December 29th 2020

It was about half a century ago, but I still remember it as if it were yesterday. Dad and I were backpacking up the side of Mount San Jacinto near Palm Springs California. It was an afternoon in mid-summer. It was hot and dusty, the straps on my backpack were digging into my shoulders and I had blisters on my feet from my new boots. I’m pretty sure I was whining about my own discomfort. I was wondering aloud if we would ever make it to the summit.

Dad was right behind me. He told me: “Just keep putting one foot in front of the other. We’ll get there.” I don’t think he was trying to teach me a life lesson; like me, he was probably just trying to get to the top. But for some reason, those words resonated with me. I adjusted my backpack straps, tightened by boot laces, and kept walking over the rocky trail. Sure enough, we made it to the top that day. It was one of the three peaks we climbed together when I was a boy. Mount Whitney and Mount San Gorgonio were the other two.

I mention this not to tell a story about backpacking, but to say that even the smallest moments can make a difference on one’s life. For the rest of my life, including today, when life threw me a difficult moment or setback I remembered those words: “Just keep putting one foot in front of the other.” In that moment on that trail my dad had given me the superpower of perseverance. Now, with his passing I’m thinking of his words again.

Thanks Dad. I miss you already.