Myra Kraft Honored at Memorial Service

Hundreds of friends, family and supporters turned out at  in Newton to say farewell today at the memorial service for Myra Kraft, philanthropist and wife of Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Kraft passed on Wednesday.

"If you were Myra's friend, you were her friend for life," commented friend and president ofCombined Jewish Philanthropies, Barry Shrage. He added that, with her passing, "something has been irrevocably broken."

Shrage went on to compare her to a Jewish prophet, speaking out against injustice.

Her sons told stories of traveling around the world with their mother. One story was of a trip to Johannesburg, Soouth Africa in 1983: as the family stayed in a plush resort, she took the family out to see what shantytowns were like. At one point, she was walking with her son Jonathan and saw police arresting black men for a lack of identification. She demanded the officers arrest her, as she carried no ID either--which is when her son lifted her over his shoulder and carried her away.

These and other stories spoke to the character of the woman memorialized. Her family acted as pallbearers, carryinging her simple, wooden casket out of the service. Many kissed the coffin, then turned around to comfort one another, before heading back inside the temple. 

Family, friends, politicians and political figures, as well as a number of athletes, turned out to Newton yesterday to say farewell to Myra Kraft. Among the players, Tom Brady, Vince Wilfork, Dan Koppen, Logan Mankins and Ryan Wendell. There were also sightings of Governor Deval Patrick, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and Donald Trump at the service.

In lieu of flowers, the family asked that donations be sent to the Myra Kraft Giving Back Scholarship Fund (50 Congress Street, Suite 730, Boston, MA 02109).