Paul William Kraus
March 29, 1945-Feb. 12, 2017
Portola Valley, California

Paul Kraus, long-time resident of Portola Valley, died peacefully on February 12, 2017. Paul was born in Berkeley, California and raised in Kensington. He attended the School of the Madeleine and St. Mary’s High School. Following a year at St. Mary’s College in Moraga, he attended UC Berkeley where he earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree, was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, and met his wife, Leslie. Following graduation Paul worked for Kaiser Hospitals and KMD Architects. Paul and a coworker left KMD in 1976 to open their own firm, Design Partnership, which is still in operation. In 1984 Paul left Design Partnership and joined Leslie in taking over her family’s business, Goodco Press, Inc., in Mountain View, California. Paul became a tireless volunteer in Mountain View. He served for over 10 years on the boards of the Chamber of Commerce and CHAC, and 20 years on the Kiwanis board. He also served on the boards of VTF Services and the Mountain View Library Foundation and was a member of the Peninsula Executives Association for 18 years. Paul’s generous service was recognized when he was named Printing House Craftsmen Craftperson of the Year (1994), Mountain View Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Business Person of the Year (2006), and was awarded the Los Altos Community Foundation John Gardner Award (2014). Paul’s community service encompassed Portola Valley as well. He coached AYSO for many years. He worked with the Windmill School Director providing architectural advice when the school was threatened with relocation and was a volunteer on the Architectural Committee when the Ormondale and Corte Madera schools were being renovated. Paul enjoyed many years of skiing, tennis, golf, playing guitar, running on the local trails with his friends, and driving his TR6. He was an incredible father to his daughter, Sam, and a loving husband. This kind, gentle man will be greatly missed by his family and a multitude of friends.

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