Bette Lorene Krause

Bette L. Krause was born March 20, 1931, although her birth certificate says she was born in 1930. She died March 29, 2019. She was the youngest of seven children born to John Friesen and Ann Warkentin Friesen. She attended West Salem Grade School and graduated from Salem Academy. In 1949 she met her husband Menno Krause when they both worked at Sears. They were married in May of 1952. He died in 1993. She is survived by her son Jim (wife Patrice) and sister Helen Hasselblad. She was preceded in death by her brothers Ernest, Willard, and Allen Friesen, sisters Marjorie Bangs and Frances Finden, and her son Larry Krause. She was a member of the Friesen sisters quartet for 20 years and Salem Singers for 15 years. She sang in church choirs from age 14, and sang in the Lebanon Community chorus for 17 years. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Salem, Oregon for 60 years. Bette was special to many people. She treated her friends as family and her family members as friends. She drew people together and organized and hosted gatherings of friends and family. She provided countless hours of friendship, support, story-telling, singing, scrabble-playing, and fun for all those dear to her. We will all miss her.Her memorial service will be held at 2:00 pm on May 11 at the chapel of Dallas Retirement Village in Dallas, OR. Memorial gifts may be sent to Marion-Polk Food Share or Boys Town.