Kathleen Ebert Kruger

KATHLEEN KRUGER FRANCIS KRUGER

March 11, 1943 - January 5, 2019 November 3, 1940 - November 25, 2016

It is with great sadness that the family of Kathleen Kruger announce her passing after a courageous battle with Pancreatic Cancer. On the early morning of January 5th, she joined her beloved husband, Francis, in heaven.

Kathleen was was born in Champaign, IL on March 11, 1943 to Roy and Mari Jane(Hoban) Howey. Kathleen was raised in Mesa, AZ, where she found her love for heat and sand.

Francis was born in Milbank, SD on November 11, 1940 to Alfred and Christina (Dragt) Kruger.

Francis joined the AirForce and was stationed at Luke Air Force Base in Phoenix, AZ, when he met the love of his life, Kathleen. She was in nursing school at St. Joseph’s Hospital School of Nursing in Phoenix, graduating in 1964. She then went on to get her Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Mesa College in Grand Junction in 1985 and later getting her Masters in Psychiatric Nursing in 1993.

Francis and Kathleen eloped in Las Vegas, NV on May 28, 1964. They moved to Grand Junction, CO in 1967, where they raised two children, Kristina and Gary.

Francis was an electrician and then became the Chief Electrical Inspector for Mesa County.

In 1995, they moved to Sierra Vista, AZ for Francis retirement and for Kathleen to teach nursing at Cochise Community College. They resided in Sierra Vista until Francis’ passing the day after Thanksgiving 2016. There daughter Kristina and son-in-law Keith moved Kathleen back to Grand Junction where she resided until she passed.

Upon receiving Kathleen’s cancer diagnosis, Kristina and Keith helped Kathleen achieve some bucket list items, including going to a Brantley Gilbert Concert at Country Jam, many camping trips, visiting San Diego, the beach and Sea World and having all the grandkids at once to visit her and some are from the East Coast.

Francis and Kathleen are survived by Kathleen’s sister, Roberta Baker, their two children Kristina (Keith) Hatcher, and Gary Kruger, niece Amber (Fred) Riffel, nephew Greg, grandchildren Jeremy Kruger, Abbigail (Pankaj) Mehra, Candra (Brynt Kolb) Smith and Kyle Hatcher, great nieces and nephews Danyale and Richard Riffel and many other family members and Hank the dog.

They are preceded in death by boths sets of parents, Kathleen’s sister Letty and Francis’ brothers Arlin, Lawrence and Lavern.

Services will be held on Friday, January 11th, 2019 at 5:30 PM at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church, 3133 F Road, Grand Junction, Colorado.