The Story of Jude
Our Why
Jude Samuel Kraft came into our lives on May 12, 2011. We barely made it to the hospital before Jude was ready to make his grand entrance. Jude was like this in life too, always rushing into things and wanting to make the most of each and every moment. We didn’t know it then, but our time with that precious boy would be limited. To Jude life was an adventure, he never half did anything! He woke up every morning looking for new things to explore and try. He had confidence in himself that only a child could have! He often contemplated whether or not he or LeBron James was a better basketball player, and he meant it. You see Jude was the silly, care free, light of our family. There was nothing but goodness in him, and anyone that met him was taken in by his charm and charisma. Jude was an amazing son, the best little brother and a friend to all.
On May 26, 2017, our world came crashing down. We experienced something that no parent should ever have to go through. Our family lost our best friend and our community lost an amazing little person. It would have been easy for life to stop that day and believe me it did for quite some time. Instead we have made it our goal, our why, to tell Jude’s story... the story of his life, and to help others in the way that he would have. We want to continue to share Jude’s light with the world and to help other families who lose a child. We hope to use our knowledge and experience in dealing with the impossible to help guide other families through this unimaginable tragedy. To be there for other families and help them find resources (counselors, funeral services, meals) and run their lives when they cannot like our support network did for us. No one should ever have to go through this, but if we can lighten the load and bring a little of Jude’s light it makes it feel worthwhile.
Many of you visiting our page are probably curious as to what The Jude Kraft organization’s purpose is to help grieving families. You can find that information on our page too, but it will always come second to our why. Anyone can tell you what they do, but the more important question is why they do it. Our why is simple, we do it for Jude! We do it for all the other families who will or have lost a child and need support during the worst days of their lives, and eventually to give them a place to tell their child’s story.