Susan V. Kraft

Susan V. Kraft, 55, of Pray, Montana, died early Tuesday morning, August 16, 2016 at the Livingston HealthCare Hospital as a result of complications from a glioblastoma brain tumor. Cremation has taken place at Franzen-Davis Crematory following cornea donation through SightLife. A formal funeral service is not planned at this time. Memorials are preferred to the Livingston/Park County Public Library, the Yellowstone Gateway Museum, or the American Association of University Women (Park Branch) scholarship fund. Susan was born on January 30, 1961, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of Jean Kraft and step-daughter of Hank Gritz. Susi had an adventurous childhood, moving to Florida, New Mexico, California, and Bogota, Columbia, and ultimately back to Pennsylvania, as her parents pursued their college educations. She graduated from Coatesville, PA High School in 1979 and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Immaculata College (now Immaculata University) in Malvern, PA. Susan also attended college at Barnard (Columbia University) in New York, Haverford College in Pennsylvania, and Tufts University in Boston, MA where she earned a graduate certificate in museum studies, while working for the National Park Service (NPS), Northeast Regional Office. Susans NPS career spanned nearly 15 years and included working as a Park Ranger at Independence National Historical Park (NHP) and Valley Forge NHP in Philadelphia, and at Salem Maritime National Historic Site in Salem, MA. Susan then pursued a job as a museum technician at Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in New Hampshire, from which she entered a 3-year training program to become a museum curator. Her training took Susan to many National Park Service sites in the northeast, including assignments at Gateway National Recreation Area in New Jersey and Acadia National Park, Maine which became a favorite. Following the completion of her training Susan moved to Yellowstone in 1993 as the parks first, full-performance Museum Curator, overseeing the collection, curation, and preservation of cultural and natural history specimens and hundreds of thousands of archival documents in the parks museum and archives collections. Susan served on the National Park Service Museum Program Management Council, and in 1999 wrote and served as Guest Editor for an issue of the National Park Services cultural resource publication, CRM, devoted to the history of railroads and their connections to National Parks. Susan co-wrote text for, Spectacular Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, published in 2007. At Yellowstone, Susan met her future husband, Lindsay C. Robb. In November 1994, they bought a home together in Paradise Valley, and on July 4, 2001, they were married on a quiet beach in Acadia National Park, while vacationing in Maine. Just a month later, Susan was diagnosed with two cancers, which she successfully fought. Following her further diagnosis of Lynch Syndrome, a genetic condition resulting in a predisposition to cancer, Susan quit work in 2003 to focus on her health and to help her sister who had recurring colon cancer. Over the years, Aunt Susi spent many happy weeks in Pennsylvania with her dear nieces, Grace and Katie, for birthdays, holidays and whenever she could help her sister and brother-in-law. And she especially enjoyed when they visited us in Montana. Susan enjoyed time at home with her horse and dogs in Paradise Valley, traveling with her mom and husband on many wonderful adventures in the US and Europe, watching classic movies, listening to NPR, following national politics ("Never Trump!"), and reading history especially about World War II. Susans dad remarried and moved to Lithuania last year, and Susan enjoyed visiting Hank and meeting her new extended family there. Susan volunteered at the Yellowstone Gateway Museum, and served on the museum board of directors for several years. More recently she served on the board for the Livingston/Park County Library. In addition, Susan enjoyed interviewing local World War II veterans, compiling their stories, and giving talks about the War Years. Susan is survived by her husband, Lindsay Robb of Pray, MT and Yellowstone National Park, her mother Jean Kraft of Livingston, MT, her father Hank Gritz of Vilnius, Lithuania, and nieces Grace and Katie Keiser of Landsdale, PA, as well as many other friends and extended family. Susan was preceded in death by her beloved sister Jeanne Keiser. Arrangements are under the care of Franzen-Davis Funeral Home and Crematory.