Obituary of Barry Krueger

Barry L. Krueger passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on September 13th, 2023 while on vacation with his wife, in Maui. 

He was the son of Elmer “Al” and Carol (Horn) Krueger. He grew up in Mt. Pleasant, IA and excelled in bowling, golfing and singing. During his high school years he took a job as a DJ at the local radio station. He had a good DJ voice and read the top news stories as well as played song requests.

Barry attended Wake Forest University. He joined Concert Choir there and was also president of the choir at one point. Barry graduated with honors in 1982. He moved to Gaithersburg, MD to begin a job as a computer programmer for IBM. A year later, he met his future wife, Patricia James who joined the same department. They worked together, along with several other good friends, developing software for the Air Force satellite ground communications. Soon, they both moved to Sunnyvale, CA, with several other co-workers to support the software in the “Blue Cube”. Barry and Patty were married in 1986 in Maryland and returned together to Sunnyvale.

In 1992, Barry’s career with IBM led him to Colorado Springs. Some years later, he joined a new young company, RT Logic, later to become a part of Kratos. He kept busy with many satellite projects and was always dedicated to his job.

Barry was a great husband and father. He supported his family’s hobbies and careers, cooked dinner almost every night, and enjoyed grilling and smoking meats. He treated the family to vacations and enjoyed taking the kids on hikes. He always maintained a meticulous lawn and never forgot to put out bird food for his backyard visitors. He is going to be greatly missed by his family.

Barry was a cherished friend and teammate. He continued his sports from youth: bowling and golfing. In his young adult years he also enjoyed competing in the sports of volleyball and tennis. IBM had various sports leagues at that time and he and his teammates often won Watson trophies. He was a die-hard Green Bay Packers fan and he and some like-minded fans enjoyed hosting game parties and routing for their team. On the subject of baseball, he followed the St. Louis Cardinals team. He was an accomplished sportsman himself, golfing a hole-in-one and bowling three 300 games. He participated in the yearly United States Bowling Congress Open for 25 consecutive years, usually winning enough money to cover some of the traveling expenses but always hoping to bowl better the following year. 

For about the last 20 years, Barry volunteered as the church treasurer and about the last 10 years, he volunteered to play the hymns for the service. If he was going to be on vacation he would spend time recording the music so the congregation would have accompaniment while he was gone. Barry retired in June 2022 and immediately volunteered to deliver meals to the homebound once a week through Project Angel Hearts. He also volunteered at Penrose St. Francis Hospital once a week as well as helped in various capacities at Pine Creek Golf Course.

Barry is survived by his wife, of almost 37 years, Patricia Krueger, of Colorado Springs; his two sons, Jonathan (Kerianne) Krueger, and Benjamin Krueger, all of Aurora; his daughter, Rachel (Rob) Landers, of Guam; his mother, Carol, of Iowa; his brother, Mark, of Nebraska; his sister, Laurie Larsen, of Illinois; and his nephews: Jeff Krueger, of Nebraska, and Jason (Tiffany) Krueger, of Missouri. He is also survived by several grandnieces, grandnephews and cousins. He was predeceased by his father. He left them with the memory of his great sense of humor, his affinity for golf and his spirit of adventure. Barry also leaves warm memories and beloved ties with members at Shepherd of the Springs Lutheran Church, co-workers at Kratos and other past co-workers, lifelong friends, and many others who were touched by his life.

Visitation, 10:00AM, Thursday, October 5, 2023, The Springs Funeral Services - North, 6575 Oakwood Boulevard, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80923.

Funeral Service, 10:30AM, Thursday, October 5, 2023, The Springs Funeral Services - North, 6575 Oakwood Boulevard, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80923.

Graveside Service to follow at Evergreen Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, you are welcome to give a memorial contribution to Barry’s church in his memory: The Shepherd of the Springs Lutheran Church, 6755 Earl Dr., #100, Colorado Springs, CO 80918.