​Dr. Avram R. Kraft, age 85.

Dr. Avram R. Kraft, age 85. Beloved husband of Kerana Gladstone Kraft. Loving father of Rachel (Douglas Brown) Kraft, Adam Kraft (Partner in life Lois Miller) and father-in-law of the late Michael Maggio. Cherished brother of Robert (Dr. Dana Blumberg) Kraft and Elizabeth (Peter Levine) Kraft Levine and brother-in-law of the late Myra Kraft. Adored brother-in-law, uncle, cousin, colleague, and friend. Dear step-grandfather of Ben Maggio, Brittany Brown (Jose Manuel Astudillo), Stephen Brown (Laura Rosenbaum Brown) and Meredith Brown (Max Wertheimer) and step-great-grandfather of Eliana, Teodoro (Teo), Santiago (Santi) and Nicholas (Nico) Astudillo Brown and Lily Brown. A native son of New England, Avram R. Kraft was born, raised, and educated in Brookline, Massachusetts; Wells, Maine; New York City, NY; Columbus, Ohio and Burlington, Vermont. Avram served in the United States Navy in Bethesda, Maryland before entering academic medicine at the University of Illinois and providing care at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. In the 1980s, he went into the private practice of general surgery in Highland Park, Illinois. Avram taught Compassion in Medical Care at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Evanston, Illinois and upon retiring from surgery in 2000, founded and chaired the Center for Compassion in Medical Care at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare. He was a perennial student of medicine, ethics, and ancient texts. Avram was an early advocate of hospice and palliative care. He chaired both the Ethics and Hospice committees at Highland Park Hospital where he also served as Secretary of the Medical Staff. In 2017, Avram published A Commitment to Compassion: Lessons from a Life of Service. After 40 years of living on Chicago’s Northshore, Avram and his wife Kerana moved to Boca Raton, Florida. Service Friday 11AM at North Suburban Synagogue Beth El, 1175 Sheridan Road, Highland Park, Illinois 60035. Interment Shalom Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to North Suburban Synagogue Beth El, www.nssbethel.org; Congregation Kehillath Israel, https://congki.org/give/ 384 Harvard Street, Brookline, MA 02446; B'nai Torah Congregation, https://www.btcboca.org/giving... 6261 SW 18th Street, Boca Raton, FL 33433; or the Foundation to Combat Anti-Semitism, https://offers.kraftse.com/offers/fcas-combat-antisemitism, c/o FCAS - 75 Washington Street, Foxborough, MA 02035. Arrangements by Chicago Jewish Funerals - Skokie Chapel, 847.229.8822, www.cjfinfo.com. To attend the funeral live stream, please visit our website.