Henry Kruse was born January 12, 1925, in Moorhead, MN to Christian Ferdinand Kruse and Maida Marguerita (Wolff) Kruse, both who emigrated here from Germany. He attended Fargo Public Schools through 8th grade. He later served in the 8th Army Air Corps B17 Bomber Group and the 44th Infantry Division, 63rd Combat Engineers, Battalion Company B in the European Theatre during World War II.

After the war he returned to the FM area where he met Helen Louise Andersen. They were married at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in 1946. They recently celebrated 66 years of marriage on Sept. 21, 2012.

Henry and Helen were blessed with a son David in 1952 and a daughter Diane in 1955.
Henry worked for Dakota Plate and Glass Co. for over 25 years. There are still many buildings in the area, like Olivet Lutheran Church, that remain an example of his work. He retired in 1979 and spent his time doing woodworking, fishing and enjoying time with his family.

His health took a turn for the worse in 2008 and he was hospitalized many times since then, most recently on Christmas Eve. Henry came home from Essentia Health on New Year’s Day under Hospice Care and passed away on Sunday morning, January 6, 2013 surrounded by family.

Henry is survived by his wife, Helen; his son, David A. (Nancy) Kruse, West Fargo, ND; daughter, Diane K. (Jeff) Branch, San Bernardino, CA; four grandsons, Mike (Kim) and Derrick (Jessie) Raymond, Darren (Alicia) and Justin (Amy) Kruse; three great grandsons, Jeffrey, John and Maximus; three Great Granddaughters, Elise, Morgan and Natalie.

He was preceded in death by his parents.