Lowen Kruse (February 25, 1929 – November 24, 2017) was a politician from the U.S. state of

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

. From 2001 to 2009, he represented the 13th District, consisting of part of

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

, in the

Nebraska Legislature The Nebraska Legislature (also called the Unicameral) is the legislature of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln. With 49 members, known as "senators", the Nebraska Legislature is the sm ...

. Kruse was a minister for the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelic ...

in the Nebraska Conference from 1956 until 1994. He was married to Ruth (Wallis) Kruse for 61 years, from 1956 until his death. Kruse was born in 1929, in

Boelus, Nebraska Howard City, locally referred to as Boelus, is a village in Howard County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 189 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Grand Island, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Boelus was originally ...

, and graduated from Boelus High School,

Nebraska Wesleyan University Nebraska Wesleyan University (NWU) is a private Methodist-affiliated university in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was founded in 1887 by Nebraska Methodists. As of 2017, it has approximately 2,100 students including 1,500 full-time students and 300 ...

, and Garrett Theological Seminary at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

with a master's degree. In addition to serving as a

United Methodist The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelic ...

minister in Omaha, Kruse was also a pastor in other Nebraska counties and held other positions in the church. He published three works: ''Paradise on the Prairie'', ''We Are the Church'', and ''Omaha: The Prairie Blossoms''. In 2000, Kruse was elected to represent the 13th Nebraska legislative district. He was reelected in 2004. In the Legislature, he served as vice chairperson of the Appropriations Committee. Kruse died on November 24, 2017, at the age of 88.

References

# # {{DEFAULTSORT:Kruse, Lowen 1929 births 2017 deaths Politicians from Omaha, Nebraska Democratic Party Nebraska state senators Nebraska Wesleyan University alumni Christianity in Omaha, Nebraska Garrett–Evangelical Theological Seminary alumni Religious leaders from Nebraska American United Methodist clergy

See also

References