Myra Hiatt Kraft (''née'' Myra Nathalie Hiatt; December 27, 1942 – July 20, 2011) was an American philanthropist and the wife of
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
and
New England Revolution
The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...
owner
Robert Kraft
Robert Kenneth Kraft (born June 5, 1941) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Kraft Group, a diversified holding company with assets in paper and packaging, sports and entertainment, ...
.
Early life and education
Kraft was born in
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...
in 1942, the daughter of Frances (Lavine) and
Jacob Hiatt. Her father was a
Lithuanian Jewish
Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks () are Jews with roots in the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania (covering present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, the northeastern Suwałki and Białystok regions of Poland, as well as adjacent areas o ...
immigrant who had served as a circuit judge of the Court of Lithuania before immigrating in 1935.
[ESPN: "Philanthropist Myra Kraft dies"]
July 20, 2011 His parents and three other members of his family were murdered during the
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
. He went on to become a well-known philanthropist and leader in the Jewish community.
[College of the Holy Cross: In Memoriam: Jacob Hiatt]
February 25, 2001 Jacob served as president of the E.F. Dodge Paper Box Corp. in
Leominster, Massachusetts
Leominster ( ) is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the second-largest city in Worcester County, with a population of 43,782 at the 2020 census. Leominster is located north of Worcester and northwest of Boston. Both ...
and remained president when it merged with 12 other box and printing companies to become the Rand-Whitney Corp.
Rand-Whitney was bought by his son-in-law, Robert Kraft, in 1972.
In 1960, Kraft graduated from the private
Bancroft School
Bancroft School in Worcester, Massachusetts, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States, is an independent, co-educational, PreK–12, college-preparatory day school. Students typically live in Central Massachusetts and MetroWest, MetroWest Boston. ...
in Worcester, and in 1964 she graduated from
Brandeis University
, mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = NECHE
, president = Ronald D. Liebowitz
, pro ...
with a degree in History.
Philanthropy
Kraft was listed by ''Boston Magazine'' as one of the 20 Most Powerful Women in Boston,
She was president and director of the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation and trustee of the Robert K. and Myra H. Kraft Foundation. She served on the boards of directors of the
American Repertory Theatre
The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) is a professional not-for-profit theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1979 by Robert Brustein, the A.R.T. is known for its commitment to new American plays and music–theater explorations; to ne ...
, the
United Way
United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016.
United Way organizations raise funds ...
of Massachusetts Bay, Northeastern University, the
Boys and Girls Club Boys & Girls Club may refer to:
* Boys & Girls Clubs of America
* Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada
* Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Clubs, Bronx, United States
* Essex Boys and Girls Clubs, in Essex and East London, England
* The Boys' and Girls' Clubs A ...
s of Boston, the
Jewish Book Council
The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1944, is an organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature.[Brandeis University
, mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = NECHE
, president = Ronald D. Liebowitz
, pro ...]
.
She and her husband donated millions of dollars to promote American football in Israel building the
Kraft Stadium in Jerusalem
and founding the
Israeli Football League
The Israel Football League (IFL; he, ליגת הפוטבול הישראלית), also known as the Kraft Family Israel Football League for sponsorship reasons with the Kraft Family, is an amateur American football league consisting of eight tea ...
. In addition, Kraft helped to support and fund the Israeli Women’s National Flag Football Team.
[Jewish Journal: "Bob Kraft: New England Patriots’ Jewish owner" by Andrew Gershman](_blank)
January 23, 2012
Kraft and her husband started the "Passport to Israel" Program with the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Boston which provided financial assistance to Jewish parents to send their children to Israel while teenagers to help promote Jewish identity.
To encourage greater understanding between
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
and
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, Kraft, her husband, and her father endowed two professorships in comparative religion at the
College of the Holy Cross
The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...
and
Brandeis University
, mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = NECHE
, president = Ronald D. Liebowitz
, pro ...
: the Kraft-Hiatt Chair in Judaic Studies at Holy Cross and the Kraft-Hiatt Chair in Christian Studies at Brandeis University.
The ''
International Herald Tribune
The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France for international English-speaking readers. It had the aim of becoming "the world's first global newspaper" and could fairly be said ...
'' credited Kraft with "modeling a new form of engaged giving that is transforming the relationship between philanthropist and philanthropy,"
and the ''
Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' stated she was "forging a whole new form of engaged giving."
The Krafts have donated more than $100 million to a wide range of charities mostly focusing on education, athletics, women’s issues, and Israel.
New England Patriots
Kraft was the president of the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation, the team's non-profit entity created by the Kraft family to support charitable and philanthropic agencies throughout the United States and Israel.
Shortly after the
1996 NFL Draft
The 1996 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 20–21, 1996, at the Paramount ...
, Kraft learned that the Patriots' fifth-round choice,
Christian Peter
Christian J. Peter (born October 5, 1972) is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). Peter's younger brother, Jason, also played in the NFL.
Early years
Peter grew up the oldest of four children in t ...
of
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
, had a lengthy history of
violence against women
Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often consi ...
. At her insistence, coupled by backlash from women's groups and Patriots fans against Peter's signing, the Patriots relinquished Peter's rights only a week after the draft.
Personal life
Kraft married
Robert Kraft
Robert Kenneth Kraft (born June 5, 1941) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Kraft Group, a diversified holding company with assets in paper and packaging, sports and entertainment, ...
in June 1963 while she was a student at Brandeis. They have four sons:
*
Jonathan A. Kraft is president of
The Kraft Group
The Kraft Group, LLC, is a group of privately held companies in the professional sports, manufacturing, and real estate development industries doing business in 90 countries. Founded in 1998 by American businessman Robert Kraft as a holding com ...
and the
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
.
*Daniel A. Kraft is president of
International Forest Products
Interfor Corporation is one of the largest lumber producers in the world. The company's sawmilling operations have a combined manufacturing capacity of over 3 billion board feet of lumber with sales to North America, Asia-Pacific and Europe. Inte ...
founded in 1972 by his father.
*Joshua Kraft is president and CEO of the
Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston.
*David Kraft
Death
Kraft died from ovarian cancer on July 20, 2011, at age 68, in her
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton, A ...
home.
Public services were held at Temple Emanuel in
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately west of downtown Boston. Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages, without a city center. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Ne ...
.
In her memory, all Patriots players wore a patch on their uniforms bearing Kraft's initials (MHK) throughout the
2011 season.
"Pats' season, dedicated to Myra Kraft, continues to Super Bowl"
January 22, 2012
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kraft, Myra
1942 births
2011 deaths
American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
Brandeis University alumni
Deaths from cancer in Massachusetts
Jewish American philanthropists
Kraft family
New England Patriots owners
People from Worcester, Massachusetts
Philanthropists from Massachusetts