ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 21, 1996 TAG: 9601220105
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: NEWS OBIT
SOURCE: BETTY HAYDEN
Dennis Kruger dreamed of a day when downtown Roanoke would once again be home to people and not just businesses. He died Saturday at age 55 after a long illness.
Kruger bought a three-story building on Salem Avenue for $19,000 in 1978. He turned the second and third floors into an apartment, becoming something of an urban pioneer when he moved there in 1984. Others have since followed his flight from the suburbs.
In a 1985 interview with The Roanoke Times & World-News, Kruger praised the benefits of downtown living. From his vantage point, next to Billy's Ritz restaurant, he could see down to the market or gaze up at Mill Mountain.
"For the first eight months I was here, I had my nose pressed against the window. This is a great place to people-watch."
Katie Zawacki and her husband were among those who cared for Kruger in recent years as he battled heart disese. He'd been staying with Zawacki and other friends since Thanksgiving because he had a hard time making it up the stairs to his apartment.
Kruger often gave food, money and clothing to the homeless who hung around his neighborhood, she said, and his family and friends ask that memorial donations be made to a local homeless shelter.
The apartment, now for sale, "was a dream of his," Zawacki said. "He loved being in the middle of the city."
LENGTH: Short : 36 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Kruger (1985).by CNB