Mass of Christian Burial for Edward Kraft, age 92, of Timber Lake will be at 10:00 AM, MT Friday, December 14, 2012 at the Holy Cross Catholic Church in Timber Lake. A Rosary service on Thursday will start at 7:00 PM at the church. Burial will be at the Glencross Cemetery under the direction of Kesling Funeral Home. Mr. Kraft passed away Saturday, December 8, 2012 at the Selby Good Samaritan Center.

Edward "Ed" Kraft was born May 23, 1920 in Strasburg, ND to Jacob and Elizabeth (Reis) Kraft, the 3rd of 16 children. In 1926 the family moved to a farm south of Glencross, SD. Here he attended country school and worked on the farm along with his parents and siblings. Ed grew up during the hard times of the 1930's. Money was scarce and the food they had was what they grew and produced on the family farm. From his dad, Ed learned how to butcher beef and pigs. He was an expert sausage maker, having perfected his dad's recipe and keeping the recipe in his head. As he grew older, he also worked for neighboring farmers. One of these was Ward Coull who taught him the fine art of bee-keeping. Some of these techniques were not well learned as Ed was often seen with lumps on his arms and neck from bee stings.

While living and working in the Glencross area, Ed met Mary Martian, a local girl from the area. On June 18, 1946, Ed and Mary were married at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Glencross. They continued to live in the Glencross area where Ed managed the Bagley elevator for a couple of years. Times were tough, and they moved to Rapid City where Ed worked for the WPA doing construction at the Air Force Base, They were able to pay off their car, and retrieve a wristwatch that Ed had hocked. Moving to Timber Lake, Ed worked for a time as a lineman for Moreau Grand Electric, and then managed the Odegard elevator for Guy Long. He continued to manage the elevator until 1968 when he and Willie Voller purchased the elevator. Ed continued to work at the elevator for several more years until he sold his share to Willie. He then did part time work at the plastic plant at Mobridge, SD. Ed could not stand to be retired so he also worked as a truck driver for the Dewey County Highway Department, and the Timber Lake School District as a janitor and bus driver. Ed lived at home in Timber Lake until his health failed and he entered the Good Samaritan Society nursing home at Selby, SD in August, 2011.

In addition to his work ethics, Ed was a very good card player and enjoyed all types of card games. He also enjoyed fishing and woodworking. Another pastime that he and Mary enjoyed was attending dances in the local area. He was an excellent dancer and could polka and waltz with the best of them.

Ed's Catholic faith was very important to him. In particular, he enjoyed praying the rosary. His faith remained with him until his death. His family was also important to him. In later years he would just beam whenever he was around his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He especially loved to hold the small children.

Ed is survived by his wife, Mary, Timber Lake; his children, David (Cheryl), Bismarck, ND, James, Janesville, WI, Peg (Don) Merkle, Noti, OR, Beth )Ken) Schweitzer, Gillette, WY, Mary Jo (Ed) Maciejewski, Timber Lake, and Nick (Lauri), Storey, WY; 12 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren; and his siblings, Herman Kraft, Jack Kraft, Fred Kraft, Dave Kraft, Helen Bracken, Marie Klein, Edith Scherer, and Idora Wortman.