Frances Ann (Holik) Krause

February 7, 1926, to July 13, 2023

Born to Amelia Rosprim Holik and Tom Jerry Holik, Jr. in College Station, TX. She was one of three siblings and four half-siblings through her mother – three boys and four girls. She spent her formative years in College Station. In 1939, and again in 1953, members of the Holik family, including Frances’s parents, conveyed land in College Station to the then A&M Consolidated Independent School District. Holik Street was named in their family’s honor. A&M Consolidated Middle School sits on Holik Street, across from Texas A&M University.

Frances attended A&M Consolidated High School, graduating in 1944, and later attended the McKenzie-Baldwin Business College in Bryan, TX. She was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Bryan. She met her future husband, Kirby Karl Krause, through the Catholic Youth Organization at St. Joseph, of which she had been a president. Kirby and Frances knew they were meant to be together immediately. Their first date was August 23, 1950, they were engaged four months later on December 23, 1950, and they were married four months after that on April 23, 1951. The 23rd was always a special date and number for the couple!

Frances and Kirby (of Austin and previously of Bryan) married at St. Joseph’s. After marriage, they rented an apartment in south Austin on Lockhart Drive and attended St. Ignatius Martyr Catholic Church. They purchased a newly built home in the Crestview neighborhood on October 18, 1954, and were founding parishioners of the St. Louis King of France Catholic Church. They lived in their home and faithfully attended St Louis until early 2019 when their health required assistance. They then lived at Brookdale Northwest Hills in Austin and attended St. Theresa of Lisieux Catholic Church until their deaths.

One of the most endearing parts of their marriage was that they renewed their vows on every wedding anniversary. Frances is being buried in the navy suit she wore for her wedding, 72 years ago. Frances and Kirby were fully committed and were rarely apart. They loved playing dominoes (42), bingo, and card games (especially Kings in the Corner which they played almost every evening), as well as traveling to and gambling at casinos! Everything was done together until Kirby’s death in October of 2021. Frances continued playing bingo weekly at Brookdale, without Kirby, until shortly before her death. Though she could no longer use her hands, she insisted on picking out her own bingo cards and was very particular!

After marriage, Frances worked for Scarbrough’s department store in Austin her entire professional career. She started as an “elevator girl” in the early to mid 1950s and worked her way up to sales in several of the store’s departments, including linens. She retired in the early 1990s, after roughly 40 years of employment. Her nieces and nephews remember going to the beautiful Scarborough Building in downtown Austin (known as Austin’s first skyscraper) to see her and tour the store. Many of these nieces and nephews were the recipients of elegant wedding gifts from the store, personally selected by Frances.

Aside from her career, Frances volunteered her time as a member of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Knights of Columbus Council (where Kirby was a 4th Degree Knight) at St. Louis Catholic Church, including at brunches after Sunday Mass, Lenten fish fry dinners, bingo games, Christmas-time tamales, and whenever and wherever needed. It was hard to tell sometimes the line between her volunteering through the Auxiliary and through other Church Ministries. Frances was a member of the Church’s Women’s Club (where she was Hospitality Chair for many years), Bereavement Ministry (which she helped found and which provided food and comfort to families of parishioners grieving the loss of loved ones), and Food Pantry (frequently picking up at items for the pantry at Randalls and Target and assisting with food distributions). As part of her volunteering for the Church, she coordinated the Holy Week Tuesday Chrism Mass luncheon for many years and participated in Christ Renews weekends managing the meals. Frances and Kirby were also past recipients of the Church’s Stewardship Award.

Frances was preceded in death by her husband, by her parents, and by her siblings: William Anton Holik of Marble Falls, TX, Mary Holik Nemec of Bryan, TX, Molly Hubacek Robinson of Sugar Land, TX, Frank J. Hubacek of Bryan, TX, Joseph E. Hubacek of Houston, TX, and John C. Hubacek of Bryan, TX.

She is survived by 38 nieces and nephews, and many, many great and great, great nieces and nephews.

A visitation will be held Wednesday, July 19, 2023, at 9:15 a.m., at St. Louis King of France Catholic Church, located at 7601 Burnet Rd., Austin, TX 78757, with a rosary following in the Chapel at 9:45 a.m. A funeral mass will then be celebrated in the Chapel at 10:30 a.m. A graveside service will follow at 3:30 p.m. at Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery, 2811 Kurten Rd., Bryan, TX 77803.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.cookwaldenfuneralhome.com for the Krause, Holik, and Hubacek families.