Tony Krauss

Tony was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his wife, Deborah M. Blahuta Krauss; daughter, Lauren Krauss of Hawaii; son, Michael Alexander Krauss of Austin; brothers, John and wife Phyllis Krauss of San Antonio and Robert and wife Cathy Krauss of Katy, Texas.

A Rosary will be held at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 20 at St. Theresa Catholic Church, 4311 Small Drive in Austin.

A Memorial Service will be held at 1pm on Friday November 21st 2014 at St.Theresa Catholic Church.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to Deborah Krauss for their children's college education fund.

As the first born son of a Texas business man and rancher, Tony Sherman Krauss grew up in the Texas Hill Country. He worked hard building fences and tending cattle. His first college degree was from Texas Tech with a major in Wildlife Management. When he was 25 years old he took a trip to Hawaii with his brother John. He fell in love with the tropical islands of Hawaii and was never the same after that.

He met his wife Deborah at Texas A&M University. He went on to University of Texas at Austin, graduating with a degree in engineering. They eventually got married in a coconut grove on the island of Kauai. Throughout their 29 year marriage they were always lovebirds, completely devoted to each other's happiness. As a thoughtful and devoted husband, his wife never had to set an alarm to get up in the morning. He would bring her coffee in bed every morning. They'd sit on their balcony and listen to the owls hooting as the sun rose, enjoying their coffee together.

His wife and daughter always knew they could trust him to make sure they had something safe and reliable to drive. He loved his vehicles, too; his CJ7 jeep was a collector's item that him and his son enjoyed working on together. The suburban, even after it had a hole punched in it's side by a bull, was one of his favorite cars.

He was an encouraging and supportive father. He always encouraged his children to do what they loved. When his daughter wanted to take pottery lessons, he took her to a clay studio for lessons on a throwing wheel after school. And when she wanted to move to Hawaii, he was fully supportive of her making a life there for herself, seeing so much of himself in her. His son loves ford mustangs, and Tony took him to dealerships on weekends and they test drove mustangs together, leaving the salesman back at the dealership, and obeying all traffic laws. He never disparraged his childrens' dreams, and never pushed his children down any specific path, believing that they should live their own lives and pursue their own passions.

He was a wonderful man; a loving and incredibly devoted husband and father. He was brave, strong, kind, patient, and thoughtful. His life was about bringing joy to his family. He had an adventurous spirit, and over the years his family would live on the islands of Oahu and Maui as well as Austin, Texas. His happiest moments were the days he spent sailing on a boat in hawaii. He loved sailboats and being on the ocean with wife and children.

He had two college degrees; the first in wildlife management, the second in engineering. He loved boats, airplanes, and cars, and was a hardworking engineer for many years. As a nature lover, he cared about the well-being of the ocean and all it's creatures, the whales, fish, and trees; he talked frequently about how his understanding of the interconnectedness of the natural world served him well in the engineering world, because he understood that you can't change one thing without changing something else.

As an engineering student, one of his college professors ended a lecture with the statement, "No one cares about the fish and trees, anyway." He raised his hand and said, "well, I do!" and everyone laughed at him. As a man who cared about the environment, he gifted his children with a deep respect for all living things.

His family loves and misses him very much.