Lieutenant Lorne Edward Kropf^[1]

1918 - 1966  (48 years)

• Name	Lorne Edward Kropf
  Prefix	Lieutenant
  Born	1918	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2]
  Gender	Male
  Military	WW2
  Eby ID Number	00006-0958.45
  Died	25 Jul 1966	Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2]
  Buried	Riverside Cemetery, New Hamburg, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2]
  Person ID	I22506	Generations
  Last Modified	25 Apr 2024

  
  

  Father	Norman Kropf,   b. 28 Aug 1878, Pinehill, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 14 Aug 1936, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 57 years)
  Mother	Lorena Estella Betzner,   b. 26 Feb 1881, New Hamburg, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 23 Mar 1937, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 56 years)
  Married	1 Mar 1916	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [3]
  Family ID	F2842	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Lorne E. Kropf Lorne E. Kropf, 47, of 288 Normandy Rd., Waterloo, died suddenly Monday of a heart attack at his residence. He was born in Kitchener, son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Norman Kropf and had resided in the Twin Cities all his life. Mr. Kropf was employed at the Dominion Electrohome Industries Ltd. and a member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Bridgeport. He was a former member of the church council and a member of the New Hamburg branch of the Royal Canadian Legion. He served overseas as a flight lieutenant with the RCAF in the Second World War and was the holder of the Distinguished Flying Cross. Surviving are his wife, the former Gladys Schmidt, who he married May 19, 1951 in Kitchener; one daughter, Laurie Kropf, at home and one brother, Emmett Kropf, Kitchener. The body will be at the Ratz-Bechtel Funeral Home until 11 a.m. Thursday when removal will be made to St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, for service at 2 p.m. Burial will be in Riverside Cemetery, New Hamburg. Donations to the Ontario Heart Foundation will be accepted as expressions of sympathy Kitchener-Waterloo Record, July 26, 1966 ______________________________ Good news came to New Hamburg relatives and friends last weekend when it was reported that Pilot Officer Lorne Edward Kropf had arrived safely at Gibraltar after failing to return to his base after an operational flight on the night of Sept. 16. The glad tidings came to his aunt, Miss Soph Betzner, in a telegram from Ottawa last Friday evening. The telegram read: "Pleased to inform you that advice has been received from the R.A.F. casualty officer overseas that your nephew, P.O. Lorne Edward Kropf, arrived safely at Gibraltar on Oct. 26. Letter follows." This good news was reassured the following day when Miss Betzner received a cablegram from Lorne directly. Further news is awaited with curiosity to learn what trying experience the airman encountered during the six weeks his whereabouts were unknown and how he eventually reached Gibraltar in safety. The crew that Lorne was with at the time which failed to return to their base consisted of seven, six Canadians and one Englishman. In a letter to his brother, Sgt. Emmett Kropf, of Camp Borden, dated Sept. 14, he wrote that he was with a very fine crew and that they were getting along nicely. The other five Canadians were all listed as "missing, believed killed." P.O. Kropf arrived overseas last Christmas. He was attached to the R.A.F. and has been in action over enemy territory for some time. He and P.O. Robert Ernst, Waterloo, now home on leave from overseas, are second cousins. The latter had been wounded twice while in action. Kropf eventually received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service to Canada in the Second World War. A second local airman also went missing in action in Europe at around the same time. From the Nov. 1 edition of the Independent, in an article titled "Pilot Officer Ray Shirk Reported Missing": The second local casualty in the war was announced over the week end when it was reported that Pilot Officer Ray Shirk was missing after operations in Egypt. He is a nephew of Mrs. Harvey Gampp with whom he made his home while attending the local school and K-W Collegiate. He enlisted before he was 18, and had to have the consent of his parents before his application was accepted. Mr. and Mrs. Gampp received a letter this week that he was enjoying life in Egypt and had been successful in damaging two enemy planes. New Hamburg Independent 6 nov 1942

  
  

• Sources

  [S2555] News - ON, Waterloo, New Hamburg - New Hamburg Independent (1917 -, March 26, 1937. [S74] News - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - Kitchener-Waterloo Record (1948-1994), July 26, 1966 - Obituary of Lorne E. Kropf. [S2555] News - ON, Waterloo, New Hamburg - New Hamburg Independent (1917 -, March 3, 1916.

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 1918 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Died - 25 Jul 1966 - Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Buried - - Riverside Cemetery, New Hamburg, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth