Beatrice Kroke
November 12, 1934 ~ May 4, 2019
Beatrice (Bea) Rae (Mulholland) Kroke, 84, of Fargo, peacefully returned home to Heaven on Saturday, May 4th at Rosewood Nursing Home.
Bea was born November 12, 1934 in Hunter, ND to Robert and Hazel (Brandhagen) Mulholland. Bea moved to Fargo at an early age and graduated from Oak Grove High School in 1952.
At the age of 18, Bea was preceded in death by her father and older brother. She dedicated her early adult years to working in banking and helping support and raise her four younger siblings, in addition to her niece and three nephews who became her siblings through adoption.
On October 23, 1965 she was joyfully united in marriage to Keith Thomas Kroke. Bea spent a blessed 53 years together with Keith raising their three children and serving in many ministries at Church of the Holy Spirit where Bea founded the preschool religious education program and the Mission Workshop, providing baby layettes to newborns in Mississippi through the midwife ministry of Sr. Clarice Carroll. She established nursing scholarships through Sr. Clarice’s ministry as well. One young mother chose to name her baby Fargo, upon learning that the beautiful baby gift she received had come from a ministry founded in Fargo. Such was the impact that Bea had.
Bea also spent many years as a volunteer and special education assistant at Washington Elementary School before returning to the banking industry. Following her retirement in 1994, she and Keith spent their evenings knitting stocking caps, thousands of which have been distributed through multiple local charities. There was always room for another set of shoes by the door and another place at Bea’s table. Bea passed her love for music, her unshakable faith, and most of all, her gifts of service and hospitality on to her children and grandchildren.
Bea is survived and cherished by her husband Keith Kroke, Fargo, ND; children Dale (Noeleen Clahane) Kroke, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada; Nancy (Tim) Ruoff, Topeka, KS; Sue (Stan) Wojcik, West Fargo, ND; grandchildren Jennifer (Nick) Benincasa, Brandon Jones, and Briana Palmer; Kate (Kolbe) Andrzejewski and Josh Ruoff; Nick, Lara, and Krista Wojcik; and great-grandchildren Lily, Ella, and Liam Benincasa and Amy Andrzejewski. She is also survived by siblings Karen (Dix) Yohn, Hillsboro, OR; Susan Lake, Vacaville, CA; Patti Ann Bishop, Columbia, MO; Mike (Connie) Mulholland, Suffolk, VA; and Bob (Wanda) Mulholland, Sandia, TX.
In addition to her parents, Robert and Hazel, Bea was preceded in death by her siblings Elaine Akin and Dale, Dave, Kathy, and Jeff Mulholland; brothers-in-law Jack Lake and Glenn Akin, and nephew Glenn (Skip) Akin, Jr.
The family wishes to extend their heartfelt thanks to the staff of the Rosewood Memory Care Unit for their compassionate care of Bea over the past 18 months of her life.
In lieu of flowers the family encourages memorial contributions to the following: St. Vincent DePaul Society at Church of the Holy Spirit, Fargo, ND; Alzheimer’s Association Minnesota-North Dakota Chapter at www.alz.org/mnnd; or Lake Agassiz Habitat for Humanity at www.lakeagassizhabitat.org.
VISITATION: 6-8 PM Thursday, May 9, 2019 at Boulger Funeral Home in Fargo – and also one hour prior to the service in the church on Friday
PRAYER SERVICE: 8 PM Thursday at the funeral home
FUNERAL MASS: 2 PM Friday, May 10, 2019 at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Fargo
BURIAL: 11 AM Saturday, May 11, 2019 at the Michigan City Cemetery in Michigan, ND
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Bea Kroke had a significant presence in both Africa and Haiti where I served for many years. She sent boxes and boxes of clothing for the children. Much of the clothing was hand sewn by a Sewing for the Missions Club that she organized. Her husband, Keith, too, made many colorful caps for the children and adults that they wore proudly. Bea was a missionary at heart. She was always ready to make and give to the less fortunate. Her Christmas message always included a check ” for the hungry chilren”.
I will never forget her kindness to the many she never even met. Rest in Peace, Bea
To the Family ,
I would like to express how sorry to hear of your loss. The pain of losing a loved one is a pain that seemingly never goes away. However, the pain can lessen when we think of what God has promised to do for us.
What comfort does he provide us? First of all, at 1 Cor 15:26 it says: “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” So God views death as an enemy and will eventually remove death.
Secondly, Jesus gave us hope when at John 11:25 he said: “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:” So there is a chance to see our loved ones again under better conditions.
This comfort from the Bible has helped me in dealing with the loss of my father and I hope it will help your family to some degree with your loss.
I worked with Bea at West Fargo State Bank. She was a wonderfully gracious woman who loved to laugh. Her work ethic is something I still admire. She loved to tell us about her children. If we had an issue at work, she would often just pick up the phone and call her Keith to get us some help.
Bea is one of those people that worked everyday to make the world a better place.
I so enjoyed the years we worked together at West Fargo State Bank. Bea was extremely bright, hard working and had a wonderfully joyful heart. To Keith and family, my sincere sympathy. I hope to attend the visitation and prayer service to celebrate a life well lived.
She will always be Grandma Bea to the Little Deacons at Holy Spirit. We would look forward to seeing her Tuesday mornings when she came and helped us out.