Penticton man carves new chapter at age 89

As a world-class athlete and award-winning homebuilder in his younger years, Rudy Krause knows the value of hard work, patience, and precision.

Now approaching 90 and having battled serious health issues in recent years that left him in a deep depression, Krause made a pivotal decision about a year ago: “Pick myself up or slowly die.” He chose to channel his lifelong skills in woodworking, building, and toolmaking into a new purpose.

Over the past year, Krause has found a renewed passion—crafting model trains, trucks, and other miniature wooden toys from discarded white oak. He has completed dozens of intricate projects, filling an entire living room in the beautiful South End home he shares with Edith, his wife of over 63 years.

Not only has his new hobby kept him busy, but it has also lifted him out of depression and significantly improved both his mental and physical health.

Diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis 15 years ago, Krause remained active for a time, but his condition worsened five years ago and nearly took his life.

“The fact he made it through and didn’t die was a miracle,” said Edith.

“I had no energy and didn’t want to do much of anything,” Krause recalled. “I just sat around, watched television, and felt hopeless. I had no quality of life and didn’t believe my energy would ever return.”

A former homebuilder in Canada and toolmaker in Germany, Krause has always enjoyed working with his hands. That passion inspired him to begin building wooden models.

He started with the frame of a tractor-trailer, crafting axles from old coat hangers and adding details using household materials.

“Within a month, I was finished,” he said. “It looked great and made me feel proud. I’ve been hooked ever since—completely obsessed.”

Often, he lies awake at night imagining the perfect wheel or the right paint for a project. “It’s the first time in a long time I’ve felt this excited about life.”

In the past year, Krause has completed more than 100 pieces, ranging from small wooden monster trucks and boxcars to a large, double-tandem tractor-trailer cattle car.

“I keep coming up with new ideas and get to work the next morning,” he said. “I have all the tools I need, and with my background as a toolmaker, I’m a bit of a perfectionist—I want everything to look and fit just right.”

Krause says he hasn’t gone a single day in the past year without working on his creations.

“If I’m not physically working on a project, I’m thinking about what to build next.”

Edith said the transformation in her husband over the past year has been remarkable.

“He’s a different man,” she said. “It gave him a purpose. I could tell after only a few weeks how much he was enjoying himself. It gave him something to look forward to. Sure, he still has the odd bad day—we all do—but his health has improved dramatically, and he smiles a lot more. It’s made a huge difference.”

Krause and his wife moved to Canada in the late 1950s, after a devastating setback ended his Olympic dreams. A champion in the 5,000-metre event in Germany, Krause was poised to qualify for the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. But a mistake by his trainer caused him to miss the start of his qualifying race at the Olympic Stadium.

“It was such a disappointment,” he said. “It made me want to leave the country.”

A friend who had already planned to move to Canada invited Krause to join him, and the two began a new chapter in their lives.

Krause found work in Vancouver’s construction industry, then secured a job with the German consulate, where he worked for nearly eight years. Eventually, he pursued his dream of becoming a homebuilder, joining the modular home industry and later moving to Medicine Hat, Alberta, with a friend to start their own business.

After nearly a decade of running a successful modular home construction company, Krause and Edith retired to Penticton in 1982.

“We used to come here on holidays, and when some of our friends moved here from Medicine Hat, they convinced us to make the move,” Edith said. “We’ve been here ever since.”

Krause also completed seven full Ironman Canada triathlons in Penticton, his first at age 50 and his last at age 70.

While she fully supports her husband’s passion project, Edith has drawn the line on space.

“We gave up this room, and that’s enough,” she said with a smile.

Krause, meanwhile, has no intention of slowing down.

“This hobby brings out the toolmaker in me,” he said. “Everything has to be just right. Edith sometimes gets mad at me for spending too much time on it, but she knows how much I love it. It keeps me going.”

Edith smiled and nodded.

“It keeps him out of my hair,” she said.

— This story was originally published by the Penticton Herald