Obituary
Richard S. Kraus, 87, died Thursday, September 2nd of congestive heart failure and sepsis. He was the beloved husband of the late Leona Kraus; loving father of Lawrence and Robert (Larissa Heyman); cherished brother of Susanne Kraus Glink and the late Ronald Glink; treasured uncle of Ilyce (Sam) Tamkin; Shona (Jon) Kitei, and Phyllis (Ian) Harris; adored cousin of Penny (Arnie) Kanov, Dennis (Karen) Bookshester, the late Kathy Bookshester, Carole (Michael Bass) Brown, Daniel Ragins, Freyda Badt; and treasured friend and colleague to many.
Born in Chicago, Richard spent his childhood summers in Miami at his grandparents’ house on Palm Island, attended South Shore High School, in Chicago, and Purdue University, where he received a civil engineering degree in 1956, and played football.
After serving a few years as a US Army investigating officer, he joined Mobil Oil in Chicago in 1959 where he held a variety of positions in a number of divisions, including lube sales and real estate. He found his passion in 1974 when he was appointed Manager of Safety, Health and Security for Mobil's Central Region, opening a new career field in which he eventually became one of the industry's leading safety and fire protection professionals. In 1980, Richard was promoted to Mobil U.S. Corporate Safety and moved his family to Northern Virginia. In 1992, Richard took early retirement from Mobil and started his own business, Petroleum Safety Consultants, which he ran until his retirement in 2020.
He was an active American Petroleum Institute Fire and Safety Codes and Standards Consultant and Codes Advocacy Coordinator since 1981, Oil and Gas Fire Protection and Safety Expert Witness (Board Certified Forensics Engineer) since 1996, and was a PE Professional Engineer - Fire Protection and CSP Certified Safety Professional. In addition to writing his autobiography, he authored numerous publications and articles including chapters on Flammable and Combustible Liquids, Heavy Equipment and Process Safety for the National Safety Council's Accident Prevention Manual; the section covering Refinery Processes in OSHA's Safety Inspector's Training Manual; the chapters covering the oil and gas industry in the 4th Edition of the United Nations’ ILO Encyclopedia of Health and Safety; and, the chapters on supervision and training in the National Committee's Motor Fleet Safety Supervisor Manual.
Richard and his wife, Leona, were happily married for 57 years. They traveled the world, visiting dozens of countries, never missing a museum. Living in Northern Virginia for more than 30 years, they were members of the Smithsonian, often visiting museums and attending various museum events, which continued virtually after Covid-19 struck. After Leona’s death in 2015, Richard continued to travel, often with his son, Lawrence and sometimes with his sister Susanne, and was always planning his next adventure, usually around a new museum that had opened since his last visit.
Richard loved food and was a wonderful cook. He would happily share family recipes, loved to make a big roast, pot of soup or chicken cacciatore for regular Sunday lunch or dinner with his family, and regularly dined at his favorite local restaurants. He loved mystery novels, doing crossword puzzles, and leading the current affairs discussion on his local JCC Monday Zoom calls. He stayed in close touch with lifelong friends and relatives, and was always interested in the goings-on and developments of his great-nieces and nephews, Alex and Michael Tamkin, Ronit, Marlee and Perri Kitei, and Roxie and Amelia Harris. He was loving, supportive, and close to his family, often playing the roles of confidant and peacemaker, and had recently moved to Coral Gables, Florida, to be closer to his cousins and son who lived there.
Richard had a great sense of humor and loved his life. He will be celebrated and dearly missed by all.
Due to the pandemic, the graveside service on Sunday, 2:00 p.m. CT will be for family only. The service will be livestreamed at www.goldmanfuneralgroup.com. Under Recent Services, click onto Richard’s photograph and scroll down to Service Detail to view his service. The livestream will be up 15 minutes prior to the service. Info: The Goldman Funeral Group (847) 478-1600.
Arrangements by Goldman Funeral Group. www.goldmanfuneralgroup.com