Remembering Steve Kraft
Steven G. Kraft, Assistant Professor of Social Work, of Riverdale, N.Y., passed away on Wednesday, April 27, 2016. He was 72.
Steve was a social worker, professor, attorney and handball grand master, having won 12 National Championships and 3 World Championships. He was born in Louisville, Ky., and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y. As a social worker, he was dedicated to working with troubled teens, running Syosset-based SCAN for a decade and working as a social worker for Little Flowers, a collection of live-in group homes for teens, for many years as well. He was also passionate about the therapeutic value of group work, and was the former president of the International Association of Social Work with Groups.
He loved to teach, and was a professor of social work at University of North Dakota for 13 years. He also taught social work at Adelphi and Stony Brook for decades. As a lawyer, his practice was dedicated to defending and supporting those in need. Early in his legal career, he argued and won a landmark case in front of the NY State Court of Appeals, forever improving women’s ability to collect the child support they need after divorce.
He was the Champion of Mott Avenue in every category ever conceived, and his sense of humor was second to none. Together with his wife Aura, he was the foster parent of 22 children, and a baseball coach and life coach to many. He touched so many lives in profound ways, and made those he knew strive to be better people. He was kind, philosophical, curious, selfless, and adventurous, and he treated everyone he came across with respect. He saw and brought out the best in all of us.
He is survived by his wife of more than forty years, Aura; his step-mother, Miriam; two sisters, Maddy and Sue Ellen; a brother, James; his sons Jon, Matthew and Omar; daughters Debra and Joelle; daughters-in-law Robin and Jennifer; his nephews Mitchell, Daniel, Jesse, Caleb, Kellen, Nicolas, Danny and Aaron; his nieces Jennifer and Manda; and his grandchildren: Brandon, Jakob, Tyrese, Kyra, Amalia, Micah, Henry, and Rhiannon.
He is preceded in death by his father, Norman and mother, Minette.
Donations in his memory can be sent to International Association of Social Work with Groups (IASWG) at 101 West 23rd Street, Suite 108, New York, NY, 10011 or United States Handball Association (USHA) at 2333 N. Tuscon Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85716. Attention Matt Krueger
