Marie Elizabeth Krafft

The Life of Marie E. Krafft There are not enough accolades Marie Elizabeth Krafft, Martin A. Schwartz Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Florida State University, 58, of Tallahassee Florida, left us on November 9, 2014 after a two year long struggle with brain cancer. Surviving family members include Marie’s husband, Dr. Robert A. Holton and her son, Paul Evan Holton, stepsons Robert L. Holton and David J. Holton, her father Frank J. Krafft, eight siblings: Barbara A. Krafft, Paula Sue Hanson and her husband Mark, Jeanne Y. Krafft, Donald F. Krafft, Martin J. Krafft and his wife Joey, William A. Krafft and his wife Gail, Stephen E. Krafft and his wife Michelle Yahn, Nancy E. Krafft Moyer, aunts Marie Kelleher and Jean D. Short, and numerous nieces and nephews. Daughter of Frank J. Krafft and the late Pauline B. Krafft, Marie grew up in Alexandria, Virginia. She attended Blessed Sacrament Elementary School, T. C. Williams High School, and Northern Virginia Community College before attending Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), where she earned her B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry. Subsequently, she was a postdoctoral associate with Professor Gilbert Stork at Columbia University. While at Virginia Tech, Marie met and later married the love of her life, Dr. Robert A. Holton. Robert and Marie have a son, Paul Evan Holton, and Robert has two sons, Robert L. Holton and David J. Holton, from a previous marriage. In 1984 she joined the faculty of Florida State University as Assistant Professor of Chemistry and proceeded to progress rapidly through the ranks. Her research received widespread recognition, and she delivered numerous invited lectures around the world. She was internationally known and acclaimed for her seminal contributions in organometallic chemistry and synthetic organic chemistry. Among these were her insightful and innovative investigations of the Pauson-Khand reaction and the Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction. She was the author of approximately one hundred scientific publications. She mentored numerous graduate students and postdoctoral associates who are listed as coauthors on her publications. Ultimately, she was named Martin A. Schwartz Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Marie also excelled in the classroom. Over the years, she taught a variety of graduate and undergraduate courses. Most notable was undergraduate organic chemistry, arguably the most dreaded and feared undergraduate course at the university. Marie was, however, extremely popular. On one occasion when she had been assigned a different course for the next semester, a large majority of the students petitioned the university for her to continue to teach their next semester of organic chemistry. As described later, Halloween was a special day in Marie’s class. In 2009 she received the University Undergraduate Teaching Award in recognition of excellence in teaching. Outside the university, Marie was a star student in Leadership Tallahassee’s Class 24 (2006-2007). And Marie provided a genuine example of leadership. She was a member of the Mary Brogan Museum Board of Directors, Faith Presbyterian Preschool Board of Directors, Maclay School Board of Trustees, Turn About Board of Directors, and Vice President (and subsequently President) of the MDS Research Foundation. She was directly involved with each of these organizations, and she contributed quiet, but passionate, effort and leadership. She also served in varying capacities at Faith Presbyterian Church. She was one of the “Angels.” Marie rebuilt and revitalized the science exhibits at the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science. She visited many science museums around the country and procured multiple new exhibits for the Brogan. Turn About is a substance abuse, mental health and behavioral treatment center for adolescents. Marie saw the results from this work and was on the Board of Directors for six years. She chaired Turn About’s main fundraiser, Administrative Assistants Day Luncheon, every year, and each year it has been an even greater success. Marie was brilliant and understated. She was an unassuming dynamo. When she set her mind to it, she made things happen. She was devoted to her family. Next to Robert, her son Paul was the light of her life. Fearless, she shared with him her endless thirst for knowledge and keen sense of adventure. So, about fifteen years ago, her involvement with Faith Presbyterian Preschool began. She gave time and money, and that didn’t stop even after Paul finished kindergarten. Her generosity enabled the school to add new resources and materials for the children that enriched the school in the areas of science, math and technology. Marie could ride a unicycle like no one else. She came to be known as Uni, the Preschool clown. Marie would arrive completely dressed with makeup, her orange wig, eyelashes and BIG shoes. She would lead the mini circus and the preschool Halloween parade of costumes on her unicycle and entertain the children with magic tricks. It didn’t stop there. Halloween was a special day for Marie. In her clown costume, after Faith Preschool, she would visit the Maclay Lower School. Over the years, she then went to various other locations, including a cancer treatment center, but the tour always ended at the FSU Chemistry Department. She taught her undergraduate organic chemistry class as a clown on a unicycle. Marie chose to work on the sidelines, quietly and without fanfare. She chose to remain anonymous in many of her endeavors. For that was her way. She was humble. Marie had a vibrancy and youthfulness that always belied her age by at least a decade. With this energy she became an accomplished skier, sailor, kayaker and unicyclist. It also gave her an unfair advantage in her daily tennis matches against her husband, Robert. It connected her to youth, as a fun-loving aunt to her beloved nieces and nephews, as a step-mother and confidant to Robert’s sons, as a wildly popular teacher of undergraduate students, and as an involved parent (and occasional entertainer) at son Paul’s school, and of course as a mother to Paul, whom she was immeasurably devoted to and proud of. Marie handled her disease with incredible bravery. Well beyond her expected survival time she could be found on the slopes at Beaver Creek, Colorado, ducking under the ropes to catch the last chairlift while the rest of her family had long-ago retired for the day. She spoke about her condition with a composure and openness that put those around her at ease and made them feel closer to her. Her positive impact on loved ones and community cannot be overstated; she will be dearly missed. She made a difference in the world. Instead of sending flowers, please donate to: Faith Presbyterian Preschool Marie E. Krafft Endowment -OR- Turn About 2771 Miccosukee Road Tallahassee, FL 32308 The service for Marie will be held Thursday, November 13, 2014 at eleven o’clock in the morning at Faith Presbyterian Church (2200 N Meridian Rd, Tallahassee, FL 32303). The burial will follow at two o’clock in the afternoon at MeadowWood Memorial Park (700 Timberlane Rd, Tallahassee, FL 32312). Susie Mozolic of Bevis Funeral Home is assisting the family with their arrangements (www.bevisfh.com, (850)385-2193).

Tributes

Marie Elizabeth Krafft

August 15, 1956 - November 9, 2014