G. Kraft Obituary

Kraft, G. Howard 93, passed away on February 28th, after a short illness in Houston. He was born in Chicago on May 14, 1908, to Martha Ann Watson and Charles Herbert Kraft. He was a life long resident of Wilmette, IL, but spent much of his time in recent years with family in Houston. Mr. Kraft was the son of the Original Founders of Kraft Foods. "G. Howard" joined the family business in 1930 after receiving a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Northwestern University. He became Vice President of engineering for Kraft Foods and after 43 years of dedicated service, retired in 1973. Mr. Kraft a was technical pioneer and inventor in the food business, holding numerous patents related to food package engineering. Those patents included single-wrapped sliced cheese and modified atmospheric packaging, which extened shelf-life in packaged dairy products by preventing mold formation. This process is used extensively throughout the food industry today. Mr. Kraft was preceded in death by his wife, Lucille Stailey Kraft, and was the last living of five siblings. He is survived by his daughter, Marina Kraft Pita of Houston and his grandsons, Howard Pita and wife Shannon del Prado of Miami, Mark Pita of Boston and Michael Pita of Houston and by his great-grandson, Lucian Kraft Pita of Miami. A Memorial Service will be held at Winnetka Presbyterian Church in Winnetka on Saturday, March 23rd at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family request donations in memory of G. Howard Kraft be made to the Jennifer R. Miller Memorial Fund c/o Ronald K. Stoessel, Dept. of Geology and Geophysics, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA., 70148. Visit Guest Book at www.suntimes.com