Lera Joyce Krause

Lera Joyce was born on November 8, 1930 to the youngest of Herbert and Annon North. She grew up in the village of Hagarville, Arkansas, located in the southern foothills of the Ozark mountains. After graduating from high school, she followed her sister to Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where she worked for Arkansas Power and Light. However, she kept close ties with her family and friends in Hagerville, and when one of them invited her on a trip to Enid, Oklahoma, she accepted. There she met a young Air Force instructor pilot, Lieutenant Donald Krause. Destined for each other, Joyce and Don married on October 20,1956 and she began her new life as the wife of an Air Force officer.

Soon, Don was transferred to Sacramento, California, where Joyce gave birth to their two oldest sons, Kenneth, and Carey. In 1962, they moved to Norman, Oklahoma so that Don could complete his education. The friends they made in Norman, and the church home they found at First Baptist Church were strong enough to make Norman feel like the home they would always return to, even as the family moved across the country supporting Don’s career.

In 1963, the family moved to Satellite Beach, Florida, where Joyce gave birth to Brian, their second to youngest child. Joyce and the boys moved back to Norman in 1967-68 while Don served a tour of duty in Vietnam. Following that, they moved and lived in Camp Springs, Maryland, until Don’s retirement from the Air Force. They then returned to Norman with no plans to move again.

As Joyce’s boys grew older, she accepted a job at First Baptist Church, where she worked as the church clerk for twenty years. Following that she worked at Moore Norman Vo-Tech for thirteen years, before joining Don in retirement.

Music was an important part of Joyce’s life. At an early age, her grandmother pushed her to learn to play the piano. She was a talented soprano and sang in church choirs for most of her adult life. At home, she was a serious gardener, an excellent cook, and an accomplished seamstress. Her grandmother taught her to crochet and knit, which she enjoyed throughout her life. In retirement, she knitted dozens of quilts, which she then gave as “hugs” to others in need.

The true measure of a person is not their fame, wealth, or accomplishments. It is found in the impact they have on those they encounter through life. Joyce’s love and support for her husband and children never faltered. She was a faithful friend and a supportive shoulder to everyone she met throughout her life. She touched innumerable lives and made them better. Joyce was the embodiment of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians: selfless, patient, and kind, rarely angered, harboring no resentments, forever protecting, always persevering. Though she sought no reward, she has been rewarded nonetheless as we all hope to be, reunited in heaven with her mother and father, her brother Herbert, her sister Charlcy, and all those who came before.

Joyce is survived by her husband, Don, her son Kenneth and his wife Karen of Arlington, Texas, her son Carey and his wife Brenda of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and their children Daniel (Los Angelos, California) and Aaron (Alma, Michigan). And she is survived by her youngest son Brian, who has remained close by and fully supportive these part years.