James J. Kraatz D. Obituary
Friends will be received 10 am to 11 am Saturday May 31, 2025 at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 247 W. Lovell St. Kalamazoo, MI 49007 where a memorial service will follow at 11 am.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to Krannert Center for the Performing Arts (https://krannertcenter.com.) or Pheasants Forever (https://www.pheasantsforever.org).
Dr. James Jonathan Kraatz, 61, of Kalamazoo, Michigan died on Friday, May 23 following a long illness and surrounded by his family.
He was born March 31, 1964 in Urbana, Illinois to James Melville Kraatz and Nancy Puck Kraatz who preceded him in death. He is survived by his wife Elizabeth, daughter Alice (20) and son James (18); brother Matt Kraatz and his wife Vickie Hemann, and their three children Henry, Walter and Eleanor; sister Ann Kraatz; step-mother, Celia Kraatz; his much-beloved uncle, Ed Puck, aunt Marge Puck, and their sons Steve and Scott Puck.
He graduated from Champaign Centennial High School in 1982. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois in 1988, having studied vocal performance, technical theater and receiving a pilot's license. He studied biology at Illinois College for two years before entering medical School at Rush University, Chicago, where he graduated in 1994. In 2001, he completed surgical residency and a fellowship in critical care at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 2002 he completed a burn surgery fellowship at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas.
