Earl Albert Kraay
Earl Albert Kraay
Earl Albert Kraay
December 12, 1944- July 11, 2014
Earl was born in Meridian, Idaho to Eddie and Beryl
Kraay. The only child to parents who had
long awaited children, Earl remembered his boyhood as idyllic. If you asked him about it, he’d reflect on
going over the hill from the bench to hunt squirrels and find snakes, building
a tree house with his dad and buying a new toy at Newberry’s on his mom’s
payday.
After graduating from Borah High in 1963, he enlisted in the
Army and became a paratrooper for two years in Panama. From there, he and three army buddies
volunteered to go to Vietnam, where he was forward observer in the infantry.
Returning from Vietnam, Earl attended Boise College and
graduated in 1970. He married Carol
Millensifer in 1970. In 1971 he attended
Navy OCS in Pensacola, where he earned his wings of gold as a Naval Flight
Officer. Earl flew fighter jets, the F-4
Phantom and the F-14 Tomcat, deploying to the Mediterranean out of NAS Oceana,
Virginia. Shore duty took the Kraays to
Upstate New York, Pensacola, San Diego and Juneau, Alaska where he retired in
1992.
Following a 21 year Navy career, Earl worked as a contractor
for the military first in New Jersey and then California. At NAS Lemoore, CA he was simulator
instructor for F-18 Hornet pilots until 2007.
He then became a senior flight test engineer at Naval Air Weapons
Station, China Lake, CA until November 2013.
As a three-year-old, Earl told his mother that someday he
would fly airplanes and land on big ships.
From Cub Scouts through Naval retirement, Earl was most comfortable
wearing a uniform. Off duty, he was a
man of multiple interests: history, biology, art, music, gardening and old Land
Rovers. He collected books, artwork,
rocks, and music—a man whose depth could never be plumbed.
Earl is survived by his wife of 44 years, Carol; three
children: Kate, of Seattle; Edward (Kei) and grandson Simon from San Francisco;
and Heidi of Boise. Earl and Simon got
to fish together over Father’s Day 2014 in McCall. He loved his family, his pets and his
Lord. Earl believed in Jesus Christ at a
very young age, reaffirming his belief as a young man in his 20s. He was certain that his next “PCS orders”
would have him “absent from the body and face to face with the Lord.” Earl said he most wanted to be known for his
spiritual courage. This was constantly
demonstrated in his steady demeanor and steadfast faith as he took on any duty
assigned, even as he endured the pain of this last illness.
The family is so grateful to the many medical and rehab
people at St. Luke’s Hospital and MSTI; Elks Rehabilitation Hospital; St.
Luke’s Home Care; Homewatch; the Veteran’s Medical Center and Treasure Valley
Hospice. We are forever indebted to
Earl’s “wingmen” as we lovingly called them: Jon Barnes, John Peterson, Steve
Drummond, Gary Merkle and Bob Sutter, who lifted, exercised, transported and
visited with Earl over the last seven months of his paralysis and illness. To many friends and family members who supported
us through this journey, our thanks will be to pay it forward whenever
possible.
Services will be held at Alden-Waggoner Funeral Chapel, 5400
Fairview Ave at 9 a.m. July 17, followed by committal and military honors at
Idaho State Veterans Cemetery at 11 a.m.
Donations may be made to Wounded Warrior Project at woundedwarriorproject.org,
in lieu of flowers.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Earl Albert Kraay, please visit our flower store.
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