Raymond Lee Kraft

Raymond Lee Kraft was born on November 18, 1930 and died peacefully in his home with his family at his side on February 12, 2019. He was 88 years old. He lived a full life filled with love, fun, friends and family. From a poor background he learned early to work hard to support himself and his family. He believed in hard work, this is how he expressed his love and self-worth.

He grew up along the Mississippi river bank in St. Louis, taking a boat across to Illinois to get scrap to sell, covered his feet in bread bags to keep them dry, this was a boy who didn't realize there was more to a chicken than just their feet. At a young age, he and 11 buddies got matching tattoos, DD with a lightning bolt thru it, as they were the Dirty Dozen. At 16 him and 3 friends found a bum, cleaned him up and passed him off to the recruiting office as their father so they could enlist in the Air Force.

After the Air Force he married and raised a family. In 1977 he was remarried to the love of his life, Carol. Anyone who knew him knew that the love of his life expression was no exaggeration, if you talked with him for more than 5 minutes you got to hear about how wonderful she was. His life revolved around her and her happiness. He rescued her and her 4 children from a life of poverty, giving them an amazing life filled with all the essentials they needed to have a healthy, happy life. Carol gave him loyalty and love on lifes journey all the way to that journeys end, an end he met with courage and grace, showing that one could truly be at peace with death, we should all be so lucky.

He could at times be hard headed, set in his ways, no filter, hold a grudge, old fashioned kind of man but he always took care of his family, teaching and guiding us along the way. We knew that he was there if we needed anything.

We will miss him, he was a good man, a loyal man, a great father and man who loved his wife, children and especially his grandchildren. We should also not forget his love for his animals or the St. Louis Cardinals. It's hard to say goodbye to people but we should look forward to the day when we see him again, all weakness, sickness and helplessness gone, strong and sure and smiling.

He is survived by his Wife Carol, his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, cousins and many friends. He is preceded in death by his parents Louis and Helen and a brother Walter. In lieu of flowers the family is requesting donations be made to Five Acres Animal Shelter in St. Charles, Missouri.