Obituary of John Melvin Krause

John Melvin Krause Born – February 17th, 1951 Passed Away – February 13th, 2014 Born Johnny Melvin Krause in Pender Nebraska, son of Melvin and Elaine Krause. John moved to Portland Oregon in August of 1964. He graduated from Benson Polytechnic High School in 1969. He was Married to Charlene Rae Smalley on April 25th 1970. They had two children, Joel John Krause and Nicholas James Krause. He was divorced in 1983. For the past 30 years Theresa Corrigan has been his partner in life. John loved his work. He had a passion for his cars. Throughout the years he enjoyed playing in the mud, snow and sand with “Rusty” his 73 Chevrolet short bed truck, dirtbike riding, doing a little drag racing, camping with family and friends, visiting his friends, taking drives in his cars, visiting his grandchildren, his Dog Lucy, and his Cat Ebony. He was the Owner/Operator of Northwest Performance & 4WD Center, a successful Portland area automotive repair business for over 30 years. The business specialized in the muscle car era of vehicles from the 60’s and 70’s. There were also a lot of 4wd projects throughout the years. His earlier business ventures and jobs in the order we remember: Underground Auto Repair Syndicate: “A non-ripoff enterprise” John Krause and David Vanderlaan When John and Charlene were married he was working at Clay Gosser’s Chevron in NE Portland. (1968) Ed Randall’s Chevrolet (1971) Portland Jeep as a parts manager (1973) Willamette Wheel (1976) 4wd Center of Oregon as a manager (1977) John’s Auto House Partnered with Mike Toepp of Mike’s Performance (1985) Ended the partnership with Mike and started Northwest Performance. The last business he was working on: Krause’s Classic Cars (2007) He is survived by his companion Theresa Corrigan; two sons, Joel Krause and Nicholas Krause; daughter-in-law, Kathryn Krause; two grandchildren, Matthew Krause and Hannah Krause; his sister, Linda Wolf. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister Janice Krause. Our Dad passed away at the age of 62, surrounded by family and friends, he was not alone. Please contact Joel or Nicholas to find out about the celebration of life. Joel – 503 927 6540 Nicholas – 503 913 4671 Service Information