Arthur George Kruse

Arthur George Kruse was born February 18, 1929, in Blaine, WA, in a little white house that sat where the freeway exit now exists. He and his sister Lois (deceased) lived and grew up in the Blaine and Custer area with their parents Arthur and Steina Kruse.

As a young adult Art worked for the US Forest Service in the woods near Mount Baker in Glacier, WA. In the early fifties he started a family and had three daughters and a son.

After being accepted into the Washington State Patrol in 1957, the family transferred to Yakima, eventually settling in Naches. He was a state trooper for ten years before hanging up his "Smokey the Bear" hat. As his kids grew, he taught all of them to drive, to shoot, to fish and he gave advice on how to avoid getting a ticket if you were stopped for speeding. That last one was about the only advice that didnt pan out all that well. He instilled a lasting love of nature in all his kids.

When Art decided to move on from the state patrol, he drove truck locally for a few years, drove long haul for a few more and became a real trucker when he hopped into a log truck. He took a break for a bit to show the drivers on the Haul Road from Fairbanks, AK, to Prudhoe Bay, how its done before returning back to the woods. He did his own truck work and kept it spit shined, polished, and running like a top. He hauled his last load of logs out of the woods when he was 85 years old.

Art loved his garden, his dogs and "shootin the S**t" with his friends. If you ever had the privilege of sitting in the shop with Art, you were his friend, and as his friend, you know he was generous, loyal, trustworthy, and a fairly good beer drinker. He had lifelong friends and if you were considered one, you are Golden. If you were lucky enough to be one of his dogs, however, you were held in the highest regard and out ranked even most family members.

Art leaves behind his wife, Annie Kruse, his four children, Beverly Kruse, Sally Kruse, Kristi Payne and Steven Kruse, son-in-law Jeff Payne, one niece, seven stepchildren, seventeen grandchildren and twelve great grandchildren.

Art didnt wish to have services after his death, and we will honor that as a family. We will celebrate and honor him, and his life well lived, this summer when we return him to his beloved woods.

Died March 5, 2021
RIP Quick Draw