Rev. Michael Kraus

1908 - 2003  (95 years)

• Name	Michael Kraus
  Prefix	Rev.
  Born	26 Mar 1908	Meeburg, Transsylvania, Romania
  Gender	Male
  Business	1959	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  	Kraus Carpet Mills
  Business	1971
  	Strudex Fibres
  Name	Mihail Krauss
  Occupation	Baetz Furniture, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  	worked - Baetz Furniture
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-158920
  Died	16 Nov 2003	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Buried	Woodland Cem., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Person ID	I158920	Generations
  Last Modified	19 Dec 2024

  
  

  Father	Michael Kraus,   b. CA 1880,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Mother	Sarah,   b. 1880,   d. 1973  (Age 93 years)
  Family ID	F56281	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Hilda Loscher,   d. 2001
  Children	1. Nelson Kraus   2. Harold Kraus   3. Ernest Kraus
  Last Modified	19 Dec 2024
  Family ID	F56280	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Michael Kraus (minister) Michael Kraus (March 26, 1908 '96 November 16, 2003) was a Canadian entrepreneur and minister in the New Apostolic Church. Immigrant Mihail Krauss was the eldest son of a tavern-owning farmer in Meeburg, a village of 950 German-speaking Lutheran Saxons in the Transylvania region of Romania. According to Canadian immigration records, in 1926, at age 18, he boarded the Canadian Pacific ship Minnedosa, and emigrated to Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. He often described his arrival saying, "I had only ten cents in my pocket, didn't speak a word of English, didn't know a soul; not even the dogs barked at me." In the 1930s, he worked in a furniture factory by day. After hours he built apartments, beginning a lifelong interest in real estate and construction. At some point his name was changed to Michael Kraus'97it is not clear when this change occurred. Entrepreneur In 1941, Michael Kraus began importing fabrics to Canada. In 1946 he formed a partnership to manufacture fabric. Initially adopting fabric looms to manufacture carpet, he founded Kraus Carpet Mills in 1959. A daring expansion into fibre extrusion, he founded Strudex Fibres in 1971. By his death in 2003, Kraus companies employed over 900 people at facilities across Canada, in the United States and in Australia. Minister Michael Kraus joined the New Apostolic Church in 1932 and was ordained into the ministry one year later. Like other ministers in the New Apostolic Church, he served in a voluntary capacity, initially as an assistant local minister and later in various regional commissions. In 1955 he was ordained as an apostle and, in Zurich on June 21, 1958, he was ordained as a district apostle and national leader of the New Apostolic Church Canada. He traveled extensively, and sent fellow missionaries to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and establish the New Apostolic Church in over 70 countries, where church membership grew to over 4 million by his retirement in 1994. He organized the construction of thousands of church buildings in developing countries. His impact on the worldwide growth of the New Apostolic Church was so great, that at his funeral, Chief Apostle Richard Fehr compared it to the missionary work of Paul the Apostle of biblical times. References New Apostolic Church International News. District Apostle Michael Kraus: A quite exceptional servant of God entered into eternity!, retrieved 2007-07-19 Kraus Flooring: A History of Growth, archived from the original on 2007-09-29, retrieved 2007-07-19 "Kraus Carpet founder also was church leader", The Kitchener-Waterloo Record: B4, November 19, 2003 "Kraus Carpet founder dies", The Guelph Daily Mercury: A6, November 19, 2003 "A Twentieth-Century Paul. Funeral Service for District Apostle Michael Kraus", Our Family: The Magazine of the New Apostolic Church, 50: 14'9615, January 2004 "Obituary: Michael Kraus", The Kitchener-Waterloo Record: B11, November 21, 2003 "Sit down! Shut up! Do as you're told!" A Letter to NAC Members from Michael Kraus", The NACBoard: 1, March 22, 1989 Michael Kraus (minister). (2018). En.wikipedia.org. Retrieved 12 September 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Kraus_(minister) _____________________________ Kitchener, Canada, Nov. 19--The Board of Directors of Kraus Carpet Mills Limited joins the Kraus family and all employees in mourning the passing of Michael Kraus, founder and Chairman Emeritus. Kraus entered into eternity at 5: 00 AM on Sunday, November 16, at home in Kitchener, Canada, aged 95. He will be missed by his family; including his son, Nelson Kraus, and his wife Ruth; and his daughter, Anneleen, and her husband Harold Eckhardt. Both Nelson and Harold are vice presidents and directors of the Corporation. In recognition of his leadership and legacy, Kraus Carpet Mills will observe a day of remembrance, closing the Waterloo facility on Friday 21 November. Having immigrated to Canada from Siebenburgen, Romania at age 18, he often described his arrival in Kitchener, "I had ten cents in my pocket, didn't speak a word of English, didn't know anybody." At 22 he married Hilda Loscher. They were married for 71 years until her death in 2001. In the 1930s he worked in the Baetz furniture factory. After days in the factory, he would work into the night building apartments. Ever the entrepreneur, he began importing upholstery fabric at age 33, forming a partnership to manufacture fabric five years later. Initially adapting fabric looms for carpet, he started Kraus Carpet Mills at age 51. A daring expansion into yarn extrusion, he founded Strudex Fibres at age 63. Kraus Carpet Mills is today the largest Canadian-owned carpet manufacturer, employing over 900 at facilities in Canada, the United States and Australia. A passionate entrepreneur and minister, his tireless work and inspiring leadership had an enduring impact on the business and church communities that he served with distinction. Those who had the privilege of knowing him will never forget his legacy. Kraus Carpet Founder Dies . (2018). Floordaily.net. Retrieved 12 September 2018, from https://www.floordaily.net/flooring-news/kraus-carpet-founder-dies

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 26 Mar 1908 - Meeburg, Transsylvania, Romania Business - Kraus Carpet Mills - 1959 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Died - 16 Nov 2003 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Buried - - Woodland Cem., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth