A PASSION FOR POLICE WORK ROBERT KRAUS OF THOUSAND OAKS SERVED VALLEY FOR DECADES.

Byline: Holly Andres Staff Writer

THOUSAND OAKS - As a Los Angeles police officer for more than three decades, Robert Kraus was imbued with a strong sense of right and wrong and the desire to do his best always.

Kraus, a longtime resident of Thousand Oaks, died Oct. 1. He was 79.

``He was passionate about his job as a police officer,'' said Bob Kraus, one of his three children. ``He believed in his work. It wasn't a job to him. It was a calling.''

Kraus worked for 34 years for the Los Angeles Police Department, patrolling downtown and later serving with the detective and metropolitan divisions. He retired as a lieutenant after working for 20 years in the Valley Narcotics Division.

``He always told us that what was important was personal integrity and honor. Honesty was above everything to him,'' said his daughter, Karen Berry. ``He was a perfectionist. He would say if you're going to do something, do it right the first time.''

Bob Kraus, an LAPD detective, said he has tried to model his own career after his father's. The younger Kraus said he has heard many stories about his father's fairness and dedication from former colleagues.

``The first impression you would have of my dad was that he was a gentleman,'' Bob Kraus said. ``He had a strong sense of right and wrong. He was probably the most honest and loyal person I've ever met. He was a great dad.''

Robert Laurence Kraus was born March 13, 1925, in Chicago. He served stateside in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World World II, then attended John Marshall Law School while working as a police officer in Chicago.

Kraus married his high school sweetheart, Beverly Gray, in 1951. She died in 1993.

Kraus was a ham-radio operator, and loved to talk with others around the world from the garage at his Eagle Rock home, where his children grew up, or later in the breakfast room in his Thousand Oaks home, which was dubbed ``the Ham Shack.''

A member of Friends of the Thousand Oaks Library, Kraus also was an avid history buff with a special interest in the Civil War.

He was a parishioner at St. Paschal Baylon Catholic Church in Thousand Oaks. He was a regular at the Goebel Senior Adult Center in Thousand Oaks.

Kraus is survived by his children, Karen Berry and Larry and Bob Kraus; four grandchildren; and a brother, James.

A funeral Mass was celebrated Tuesday. Arrangements were handled by Pierce Brothers Griffin Mortuary in Thousand Oaks.

Memorial donations can be made to the American Diabetes Association, the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society or the Salvation Army.

Holly Andres, [phone]

holly.andres(at)dailynews.com

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