Kittery Maine - Betty Kraft_It is with a heavy heart that the surviving members of the Kraft/Crouse Families share the news of the passing of Betty Lorraine Kraft. Betty, 93 years young, passed away peacefully at her home with family on August 3, 2022. Betty was a daughter, sister, wife, mother, mother-in-law, aunt, grandmother and great-grandmother, a small business entrepreneur (Bob's Clam Hut), a friend to many and an all-around wonderful  and kindhearted person.

She was born to parents Allan and Ella Barker on June 18, 1929, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She was a sister to Marian (Barker) Clough. Betty was married to her loving husband, and best friend, Robert Arthur Kraft, for 57 years. Betty was a loving mother to Bobby and Brenda and grandmother to Scott, Jennifer, Rob, Mark, and Michelle. And was a loving and caring great-grandmother to Vaughn, Nick, Ben, Will, Foster, Ryan, Emery and Jase.

Betty lived an extraordinary life and was devoted to her family and friends. A lifelong resident of Kittery (except for a short visit to New Jersey in 1946 while her husband Robert took a job in the auto industry) she lived on Norton Road, Whipple Road and eventually bought a house on Happy Ave where she lived until her passing.

Betty had a great work ethic and held several jobs during her lifetime. In the late '50s Betty worked at Grant's Department Store and Tober's Dress Shop in Portsmouth, NH. From 1956 to 2000 Bob and Betty opened Bob's Clam Hut on Route 1 in Kittery. Although Bob's name was on the Marquee of the Clam Hut, Betty who had a meticulous attention to detail, became the main cook, packager, and shopper for the growing business that become a favorite for fried seafood lovers from miles around. It wasn't uncommon to see one hundred people on a Friday or Saturday evening dipping fried clams and scallops into Bob's tartar sauce with Betty inside breading the seafood and Bob stirring his clam chowder. Betty loved being behind the scenes working alongside family members and other faithful employees over the years making sure that the food was fresh and served timely to the faithful customers that routinely ate at the Clam Hut.

In 1986, Bob and Betty sold the Clam Hut to Michael Landgarten and even after working for 30 years with Bob at the Hut, Betty wasn't done working. She went to work at the Gift Shop at Yoken's Restaurant in Portsmouth, NH where she worked there four nights a week for the next 20 years. Betty was an earnest collector of Teddy Bears and other collectibles, and the gift shop at Yoken's afforded her the ability to add to her collections while continuing to pay off her department store credit cards from JC Penny and Sears, stores she was fond of and where she could be found throughout the year buying gifts for her family and friends.

Betty loved to travel, never by airplane though, and only once by boat on a cruise with Bob to Bermuda, along with their friends Stan and Shirley Teasdale, Stan and Lil Moulton,  and Arthur and Jean Murphy  but mostly driving up and down the east coast and across the border into Canada. Betty and Bob took many road trips throughout Maine and NH, and, Betty, Marian, and her  cousin Marcia loved to drive into the Lakes Region and White Mountains of NH and the back roads of Maine in the Fall, stopping at Hart's  Turkey Farm in Meredith, NH and visiting as many Christmas Tree Shops as they could possibly  find. Betty loved the holidays and Christmas was her favorite time of the year. And she really enjoyed shopping for family and friends, especially her grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Betty loved her God, a devoted Catholic, she attended Mass at Saint Raphael's, Saint Catherine's, and Saint Christopher's Churches during her life, and after retiring from the Clam Hut, mass at Saint Catherine's became a daily morning ritual which she described as her quite time to reflect on and pray for the many people in her life who she loved dearly.

Betty enjoyed reading books, going to the movies, doing crossword puzzles, watching old movies, the Hallmark Channels (all of them), Lifetime, Monk, the Golden Girls  to name a few. However, being around her family and watching her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren grow was always a thrill for her as they always put a smile on her face and gave her the most pleasure. She loved attending all of the family events, summer BBQs, birthday parties, special family occasions, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve Dinners. Dinning out was also a favorite for Betty. She loved the Golden Rod, Fogarty's, Café Med, Sunrise Grill, Norma's and let's not forget coffee at Panera with her sister Marian, her niece Sandy, and other special guest appearances from family members and friends that would stop in just to see Betty.

Betty is predeceased by her parents, Allan and Ella Barker (Rand), her husband, Robert, and her brother David,  her sister Marian and her great-granddaughter Aida. She is survived by her children Robert Kraft Jr. and his wife Donna, and Brenda Crouse and her husband Michael; grandchildren, Scott Merrill, Jennifer Glover and her husband Tom, Robert Kraft, III and his wife Meredith, and Mark Merrill and his wife Sharlee; great grandchildren include, Vaughn, Nick, Ben, Will, Foster, Ryan, Emery,  Jase; and her Nieces Sandy Wakefield, Linda Anson,Donna Barker, Denise Wenhold and nephews Robert and Ronnie Vennard.

Betty, Ma, Mom, Aunt or "Gram," as she was affectionately called by her friends and family members, embodied the qualities of curiosity, attention, and care for those around her. She will be missed dearly for these qualities as well as her smile, which for those who knew her, was sincere and large. Betty expressed her love with that smile until hours before her passing.

She will always be loved and missed by many, but never forgotten.

The Kraft/Crouse Family will have a "Celebration of Life" for Betty at J.S. Pelkey & Son Funeral Home located at 125 Old Post Road, Kittery Maine on Tuesday, August 9th, 2022, from 4 to 6 p.m. This will give Betty's family and friends an opportunity to gather to share our favorite memories and tell stories, sharing in laughter and tears, and simply celebrating the wonderful life that was lived by Betty Lorraine Kraft.

A Funeral Mass will be held for Betty at St. Raphael's Church located at 6 Whipple Road, Kittery on Wednesday, August 10th, 20022 at 11:00 a.m.