Darleen Kass Krautwurst

Darleen Kass Krautwurst passed from death to life eternal on Sunday, December 8, 2024. Darleen was born in the early morning of December 23, 1945 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Harry and Ruth Kass. She lived with her family in the Homewood borough of Pittsburgh until she was about eight years old, when Harry Kass purchased a Tastee Freez franchise in Cedartown, Georgia and the family relocated there. Darleen and her sister Deanne both worked with their parents at the Tastee Freez for many years. They even worked in the afternoon of many Christmas Days, since Harry knew there would be travelers on the road hoping to find an open restaurant.

Darleen graduated from Cedartown High School in 1963. She attended Floyd Junior College on a part-time basis until she moved to Atlanta to attend Georgia State University. As a part-time student, Darleen worked a variety of jobs while living with four (sometimes more) roommates at what was then called The Church’s Home for Business Girls. She returned to Cedartown to help run the Tastee Freez when her father died in 1970. Darleen later moved to Doraville, Georgia with her mother and brother Kerry, while she continued her studies and graduated from Georgia State in 1977 with an AB degree in Sociology.

It was soon after the move to Doraville that Darleen met her future husband, Fred Krautwurst, who was the pastor at Advent Lutheran Church on Buford Highway in Doraville. The couple moved to Montgomery, Alabama in 1978 when Fred accepted a call to be the pastor at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church. They lived in Montgomery for 14 years, adopted daughter Amy during that time, and Darleen began a part-time career as a secretary, bookkeeper, and appointment scheduler for several elderly clients. She also became very active in Sweet Adelines International while living in Montgomery and served in numerous board and officer positions for them. In 1992, Fred accepted a call to Nativity Lutheran Church in Austell, Georgia and the family once again moved to Georgia, where Darleen continued her strong involvement as a regional leader with Sweet Adelines. Fred and Darleen divorced in 1997.

Darleen accepted a secretarial position with the ELCA-Southeastern Synod in 1992, working with Bishop Harold Skillrud. Beginning in 1995 with the election of Bishop Ron Warren, Darleen was promoted to the position of Administrator for the Office of the Bishop. In this role, she served as the office manager, hired and supervised the administrative staff, coordinated the 1997 office move to the Woodruff Volunteer Service Center in Atlanta, maintained the official record of pastors in the Southeastern Synod, served as the administrative liaison to the Synod Council, worked with numerous synod committees, and served as the meeting planner with the hotels used for Synod Assemblies. She continued in this role until her retirement in 2008.

In retirement, Darleen enjoyed significant travel with her long-time housemate Sandra Gustavson. Usually traveling by cruise ship, Darleen and Sandra visited Canada and Alaska several times, as well as numerous islands in the Caribbean and throughout Europe. One of their most memorable trips was the 5 weeks spent cruising from San Francisco to Sydney, Australia, seeing Hawaii and all the iconic South Pacific islands along the way. Her final trip was to Orlando and Disney World, only about a month before her death.

At the time of her death, Darleen was living in Lawrenceville, Georgia and was an active member of Christ the Lord Lutheran Church. She was predeceased by her parents, her brother Kerry Kass, and her sister Deanne Ritch. She is survived by her daughter Amy Swafford; niece Ruth Winecker and her husband John Winecker; niece Shannon Kennedy and husband Jeff Kennedy and their daughter Jordan Kennedy; grandchildren Haley Swafford, Philip Schiltz, and Lena Matheny; great grandchildren Wyatt Padgett and Kyndalea Padgett; housemate Sandra Gustavson; and the many friends Darleen made everywhere she went.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to

Christ the Lord Lutheran Church:
https://secure.myvanco.com/YK8H/home

and/or

Harold and Lois Skillrud Scholarship Fund maintained in the ELCA Fund for Leaders:
https://secure.myvanco.com/L-Z62H/campaign/C-159HM?access=tile_direct