Visitation: SUNDAY, November 24, 2019: 4-7 pm at The Dietrich Funeral Homes, Inc., 2480 Kensington Ave., Amherst.
Service: MONDAY, November 25, 2019: A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 9:15 am at St. Benedict Church, Eggertsville. KRAUS – Elizabeth “Beth” (nee Coleman)
November 18, 2019. Beloved
daughter, wife, sister, mother, aunt and
grandmother passed away peacefully at
her home on November 18, 2019. She
was 85. Beth was born in Buffalo on
August 4, 1934 to Leo Walter Coleman
and Anne Klemach Coleman. She
graduated from Holy Angels Academy
in 1952 and earned a bachelor’s degree
in nutrition from Mercyhurst College in
Erie, PA in 1956. Beth was a strong,
independent woman who enjoyed life
to the fullest. She spent many summers
on the Canadian Lakeshore and was a
lifetime member of the Buffalo Canoe
Club. For over 30 years, Beth and her
family owned a home on Point Abino.
There she was hostess to numerous
visiting children, grandchildren, friends,
and family. She loved reading and
playing tennis and treasured her many
lifelong friends. Her winter months were
spent at the Buffalo Ski Club (formerly
Sitzmarker Ski Club), attending Buffalo
Sabres games, volunteering at the
Fulton Street Food Pantry and attending
events at the Twentieth Century Club,
where she was a longtime member.
Beth was predeceased by her beloved
husband of 58 years, Dr. Albert “Al”
Murty Kraus, a lifelong ophthalmologist
with the Buffalo Medical Group. The
two shared an active and full life. This
included Beth supporting her family as
a full-time hospital nutritionist (as Al
went through medical school), raising
a family, and always finding room for
adventurous travel, including trips to
Africa, Australia, China, India, Russia
and the Galapagos. They passed
along this passion to their children and
grandchildren, many of whom have
chosen to study, live, work and travel
abroad. Beth is survived by her brother,
Leo Coleman, of Glens Falls, NY; and
her three children, Katherine Kraus
Shea (Dennis), of Darien, CT, Albert
Kraus (Jan Brissette), of Guilford, CT,
and Suzanne Kraus (Greg Wrobel), of
Buffalo, NY. She also leaves behind
her beloved grandchildren: Dennis
Shea (Eliza Friedman), of Chicago,
Nina Kraus, of London, Emily Kraus, of
Guilford, Caitlin Shea, of Atlanta, Brian
Shea, of Norwalk, CT, and Albert Evan
Kraus, of New York City. Calling hours
will be held on Sunday, November 24th
from 4 to 7 at THE DIETRICH FUNERAL
HOME, INC., 2480 Kensington Ave., Amherst. A Mass of Christian Burial will
be held on Monday, November 25th at
9:15 AM at St. Benedict Church, 1317
Eggert Rd., Eggertsville, where Beth
was a longtime parishioner. In lieu of
flowers, donations can be made to the
Fulton Street Food Pantry, where Beth
volunteered on Tuesdays for many
years. Checks should be made out to
“Catholic Charities/Fulton Street Food
Pantry” and should be sent to Eileen
Nowak, Parish Outreach, 741 Delaware
Ave., Buffalo, NY 14209. Aug. 4, 1934 – Nov. 18, 2019

Elizabeth Kraus of Amherst was a mother and a doctor’s wife – but she was never deprived of adventure in her life.

She enjoyed travel and nature and she was fortunate to have married a man who shared her passions, according to her daughter, Katherine Kraus Shea.

"My mom was game for anything. We have pictures of her on elephants in India. They did hot-air ballooning in India. Really, for their time, they were pretty adventurous," Kraus Shea said of her parents.

Mrs. Kraus died Monday at her home, following a long period of physical decline. She was 85.

Born Elizabeth Coleman in Buffalo, she was a 1952 graduate of Holy Angels Academy, and earned a bachelor’s degree in nutrition from Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa., in 1956.

She was married for 58 years to the late Dr. Albert Murty Kraus, a longtime ophthalmologist with Buffalo Medical Group.

While he attended medical school, she supported their family as a full-time hospital nutritionist from 1956 to 1959.

Dr. Kraus died in 2017.

Even while raising a family, Mrs. Kraus found room for adventurous travels that included trips to Africa, Australia, China, India, Russia and the Galapagos Islands. She and her husband even traveled to Alaska to track polar bears. It was a passion they passed on to their children and grandchildren, who also developed a fondness for travel.

"Maybe it’s because, if your grandparents or parents share their passion, and they come back with stories, it makes you want to experience that, too," Kraus Shea said.

Mrs. Kraus spent many summers on the Canadian lakeshore in Ridgeway and Point Abino in Ontario, where her family owned a home for more than 30 years.

She enjoyed playing tennis.

Her winter months were spent at the Buffalo Ski Club in Colden, as well as attending Buffalo Sabres games, and volunteering at the Fulton Street Food Pantry run by Catholic Charities of Buffalo.

Mrs. Kraus enjoyed attending events at the Twentieth Century Club, where she was a longtime member.

"She loved the outdoors a lot, and she loved wildlife," Kraus Shea recalled of her mother. "Growing up, she loved being at the beach. She loved swimming and jumping off of rocks. She was just a free spirit."

That sense of joie de vivre dovetailed nicely with her love of animals. Kraus Shea said that her mother was never without a cat or dog as a pet – often both.

"Sometimes we had multiples, but usually we had one cat and one dog," Kraus Shea said.

"When we used to go to the Erie County Fair, her favorite part was the livestock section," Kraus Shea added.

Mrs. Kraus was an avid reader and belonged to various book clubs.

She was a longtime parishioner of St. Benedict Catholic Church in Eggertsville.

In addition to her daughter Katherine, Mrs. Kraus is survived by another daughter, Suzanne; a son, Albert L.; a brother, Leo Coleman; and six grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 9:15 a.m. Monday in St. Benedict Church, 1317 Eggert Road, Eggertsville.