Necrology

Charles William Krahe, Jr. '45

Jun. 19, 1924-Apr. 18, 2005

Charles William Krahe, Jr. ’45, for almost 50 years a minister of the Reformed Church in America, was born on June 19, 1924, in Long Island City, Queens, NY. The son of Charles W., a construction superintendent, and Caroline Deutchmann Krahe, he grew up in New York City and was graduated first in his class in 1941 from Townsend Harris High School in Manhattan, to which he had commuted daily on the “El.” Encouraged by the school’s principal, a Hamilton alumnus, to apply to the College, Charlie Krahe came to the Hill that year and joined Tau Kappa Epsilon. Focusing primarily on his studies in those disruptive years of World War II, he earned the Benjamin Walworth Arnold Prize Scholarship, the Winchill Prize and Truax Prize Scholarship in Greek, and the Hawley Prize in Latin. He accelerated his graduation by attending summer sessions and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Awarded his diploma with high honors, including honors in Greek and history, in 1944, he was one of only 17 students to be graduated that year.

That same year, Charlie Krahe, who had felt a calling to the ministry since his early teens, entered the New Brunswick (NJ) Theological Seminary of the Reformed Church in America (also known as the Dutch Reformed Church). He obtained his B.D. degree and was ordained to the ministry in 1947. While serving a small congregation on Staten Island, he met Edith Rabassa. They were married there on June 19, 1948, the year the Rev. Charles Krahe began to supply the pulpit, preaching in both English and German, at St. Paul’s Reformed Church in Perth Amboy, NJ. Asked to take over as pastor of the church in 1949, he remained in that post until 1969, when he accepted a call to the Sixth Reformed Church in Paterson, NJ. For 16 years until 1963, he also taught Greek and Hebrew part-time at the New Brunswick Theological Seminary.

Charles Krahe’s final call came in 1980 from the Seventh Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, MI. Although he formally retired by 1993, he continued to respond to calls on a supply basis. A former president of the Perth Amboy Ministers’ Association and member of the board of the Reformed Church Home in Irvington, NJ, he was also for many years a trustee of Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, PA. In 1997, on the occasion of his Golden Jubilee in the ministry, he was awarded an honorary doctorate of divinity by Westminster. A chair in systematic theology was also endowed there in his name and honor. Two years earlier, during the 50th Reunion of his Hamilton class, he delivered the sermon at the Service of Remembrance. Entitled “Teach Us to Number Our Days,” it is recalled by those in attendance for its moving power and passionate eloquence.

The Rev. Dr. Charles W. Krahe, a “convinced Calvinist” and very much a theological traditionalist, derived much spiritual satisfaction from his long career in the ministry. Grateful for “the Lord’s mercies,” he considered his life’s work a “blessing.” He died on April 18, 2005, following a brief illness, in Santa Fe, NM, where he had moved a year earlier to be near his daughter and sister. Predeceased by his wife in December 2004, he is survived by his daughter, Carrie Norris, and sister, Jean C. Mee. A son, Martin, predeceased him at the age of 18 in 1969.

In a tribute to Charles Krahe’s memory, Banner of Truth magazine described him as follows: “A careful scholar blessed with great powers of understanding and recall, well trained and widely read, he was nonetheless known and loved for the warmth and simplicity of his preaching style.” The publication added that his death “leaves a large vacancy in the ranks of the church militant.”

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