Jorden Poole “Pete” Krauss, 72, died on Wednesday, April 12, at home, where he most wanted to be. He is deeply missed by his family and friends.
Pete was born in Beverly, N.J., but grew up in Bucks County. Pete was the son of John and Jean Krauss, and brother to Judith Poole Nicholas and John Mikel Krauss, who created and maintained a world all their own. Bucks County was still a fairly rural place when he was growing up, but the Magnolia Hill section of Levittown was full of children his own age and the promise of adventure — some would say mischief — on every corner. He told stories about skating the frozen Neshaminy Creek, flying kites within earshot of his dad’s piercing whistle, and laying duct tape sticky-side-up across the street to make drivers think they had a flat tire. His talent for joy and laughter only grew more prodigious with age.
While he always cherished his birthright as a Jersey boy, he dedicated his life’s work to Pennsylvania. Pete firmly believed that all people were capable of directing their own lives, but needed thriving communities in which to do so. Over the course of a 50-year career, spent at all levels of government and in private business, he worked to bolster Pennsylvanians and the places they lived.
He drafted Bucks County’s first Home Rule Charter (which ultimately wasn’t ratified). While working for Gov. Dick Thornburgh in the 1980s, he drafted the state’s first housing policy and the commonwealth’s Enterprise Zone program. He was instrumental in creating Pennsylvania’s Main Street program at a time when changing residential patterns and malls hollowed out small business districts. During more than a decade as chief of staff for the First (formerly the Eighth) Congressional District, Pete continued to direct initiatives that aimed to improve the day-to-day lives of all Americans, but particularly those who call Bucks County home. Before his death, Pete served as the executive director of the county’s Industrial Development Authority. For many years, he ran his own economic development business.
Family was Pete’s chief joy. His wife, Judy, was his best friend; after 42 years of marriage, they still found each other side-splittingly funny. Despite his many accomplishments, Pete said he was most proud of his children, Benjamin, Margaret and Elizabeth. Though he swore to never be the kind of grandparent who forces pictures on perfect strangers, nearly his entire camera roll was devoted to his three grandchildren, Logan, Calvin and Shipley.
Pete loved to garden, and had a talent for creating beautiful arrangements from the fruit of his labor. However, in lieu of honoring his memory with flowers, donations can be made to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, to help stop the disease that took Pete far too soon.
A service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 29 at Trinity Buckingham Episcopal Church at 2631 Durham Road, Buckingham, Pa.
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