Administrators Pompeii Posted December 20, 2024 Administrators Share Posted December 20, 2024 Phebe Smith Krouse, 93, died Thursday, December 12, 2024 at The Fountains in DuBois, Pennsylvania. Born June 7, 1931 in Punxsutawney, PA, she was the daughter of Pierre L. Smith and Winette Dillman Smith. Phebe attended Punxsutawney High School where she authored the Punxsutawney Centennial History as a sophomore when the supervising teacher was unable to complete the project. She was accepted to Duke University the same year and offered a full scholarship to graduate school, but upon graduation in 1949, chose Goucher College in Maryland, from which she earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in English and Education in 1953 and served as president of her class. She returned to Punxsutawney High School as a teacher for six years. Phebe married Charles O. Krouse June 13, 1959. They were married until Chuck's death, two weeks before their 60th anniversary. With marriage and children, Phebe became a homemaker. Wherever they lived, she was always active in the arts and community as a volunteer, board member, performer and more. Phebe served in Session and as an Elder at the Brockway Presbyterian and First Presbyterian Church in Wheaton, Illinois. She shared her musical talents and lovely alto voice to church choirs and other performing groups wherever she lived. In addition to being a dedicated member of the Brockway Presbyterian Church Choir, she directed the Junior Choir and led the church's Girl Scout troop. Amazingly, the umbrella stands created by the Girl Scout troop she led remain in place decades later. She performed with multiple groups, including the DuBois Choral Society, a "Beauty Shop" quartet and other groups. Phebe was in several United Funds charity musicals, including The Sound of Music, Here's Love, and others. Her performance as Vera Charles to Esther Hawkins' Mame achieved local legend. Over the years, Phebe participated in other shows to raise charity funds as a producer, director, emcee, and model. Phebe served on the board of the Salvation Army of DuBois. She and Chuck volunteered for years in food distribution and as enthusiastic bell ringers at Christmas. She was one of the founders and served on the board of the Reitz Theater in DuBois and served on the board of Circle Hill Cemetery in Punxsutawney. Like her father and grandfather, she took joy in writing original poems including historic events and prices, all done without benefit of the internet. Of course, she was a life-long ambassador of all things groundhog. Surviving are two sons, Pierre "Pete" Smith Krouse, (Dorothy Mundy-Krouse) of Dallas Texas, Andrew Philip Krouse of Hummelstown, Pennsylvania; daughter Colby Suzanne Krouse of Chicago, Illinois; two grandchildren; Jessica Erin Krouse of Battle Creek Michigan, David Charles Krouse of Charlotte, North Carolina; niece Barbara Kish; nephews, Daniel and Thomas Krouse and sister-in-law Ann Krouse. She was preceded in death by her sister, Suzanne Smith of Casa Grande, Arizona, in-laws Glenn and Nancy Krouse, brother-in-law George Krouse and niece Susan Krouse. A memorial service will be held Monday, December 30, 2024 at 11 AM EST at Brockway Presbyterian Church, 817 Main Street, Brockway, Pennsylvania 15824. The service will be streamed at www.youtube.com/@brockwaypc for those unable to attend in person. Later interment will be at Circle Hill Cemetery in Punxsutawney. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Brockway Presbyterian Church https://www.brockwaypc.com/ The local libraries in Brockway http://menglelibrary.org | DuBois https://www.duboispubliclibrary.org/ or Punxsutawney https://www.punxsutawneylibrary.org/donate.html Salvation Army of DuBois https://easternusa.salvationarmy.org/western-pennsylvania/dubois/ Arrangements are under the direction of the Baronick Funeral Home and Crematorium, Inc. Online condolences can be sent to https://www.baronickfuneralhome.com/condolence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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