Honoring the life of their loved one with peace, joy and purpose, Kraft family endows a professorship to further epilepsy research
By Patrick Crowley FSU College of Medicine
SUMMER 2026 / FSUMED 23
The young boy who rode dirt bikes and loved everything mechanical brought a lot of joy to his family, particularly to his parents, Chris and Kellie Kraft of Tallahassee.
“ Oh, he scared me half to death racing those dirt bikes,” Kellie said, with a look of motherly concern.
That little boy, Chris Kraft Jr., grew up tall( over sixfoot!), enjoying life and everything he loved— especially cars and FSU sports. But he also grew up with something else— generalized epilepsy— the hardest to treat. And on Feb. 12, 2022, it took his life at age 36.
“ When he passed away, I didn’ t know how to process it,” said his brother, Chase Kraft.“ We were so close. We practically did everything together. We played on ball teams together, carpooled together; we even sat next to each other on the school bus. It was a unique experience, and I was blessed to have that.”
That bond between two brothers prompted Chase to establish the JR Foundation in honor of Chris Jr. shortly after his passing.
“ I found that doing the eulogy and speaking about him after he passed, I realized how much fulfillment he brought to my life, and that brought closure, peace and acceptance,” Chase said, adding that it motivated him to volunteer with organizations such as the Epilepsy Alliance of Florida, with which the Kraft family
Chris and Kellie Kraft hold a poster announcing“ A Night to Remember” fundraising event for epilepsy, featuring a picture of Chris Jr. held fundraising events.“ I found joy in that,” Chase said.
Soon, an annual golf outing Chase and Chris Jr. took with their friends grew in attendance after Chris’ death and turned into a fundraiser with the goal of helping others with epilepsy.
“ We are celebrating the life of Chris Jr. We were raising a little bit of money, and I guess that kind of gave me the itch to jump in and do something more serious, more full-time, if you will,” said Chase, a successful entrepreneur with a variety of business ventures in New Orleans.“ That’ s how the JR Foundation came to be.”
With that same philanthropic bent and desire to help others with epilepsy and their families, Chris Sr., and wife Kellie were already involved with non-profit organizations, including the Epilepsy Agency of the Big Bend and the Epilepsy Alliance of Florida, where they underwrote the cost of seizure dogs for people with epilepsy. The Krafts were also holding fundraising events of their own, such as a Singer-Songwriter Festival at the Governor’ s Club in Tallahassee, followed by a concert with one of Chris Jr.’ s favorite bands, Molly Hatchet, at FSU’ s Dunlap Champions Club.
“ We brought Molly Hatchet in for Chris Jr.’ s 40th birthday,” Chris Sr. said.“ We had over 450 people there. We filled up the ballroom.”
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