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Dr. Edwin C. Kraft

Shared by Godfrey K. Sang.

Kraft, Edwin Carl (1925–2015)

By Godfrey K. Sang

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Godfrey K. Sang is a historical researcher and writer with an interest in Adventist history. He holds a B.A. in History from the University of Eastern Africa Baraton and a number of qualifications from other universities. He is a published author. He is the co-author of the book On the Wings of a Sparrow: How the Seventh-day Adventist Church Came to Western Kenya. 

First Published: October 9, 2024

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Dr. Edwin Carl Kraft was a leading medical missionary to Africa who worked in several countries including Kenya, serving at the Kendu Adventist Hospital.

Early Life

Edwin Carl Kraft was born on September 4, 1925, in Tokyo, Japan, to Caroline “Lillian” Petschuck (1902-1970) and Edward John Kraft (1893-1982).1 He was the younger of two children, his older sister Evelyn was born in 1922.2 His parents were Adventist missionaries who served in Japan from 1920 to 1936.3 Edward Kraft served in the Japan Union Mission and, at some point, was in charge of the colporteur work there.4 Both of their children were born in Japan. On December 24, 1950, he married Ruby Mae Spier in Pasadena, California. Ruby graduated from Loma Linda School of Nursing in 1950. The couple had one daughter named Carol Ann.

Education and Ministry

Edwin Kraft joined the U.S. Army in 1945, serving in Alaska until 1946.5 He attended Rutgers University and Cornell University, where he received medical training. After his graduation, he began his internship at the Portland Sanitarium and Hospital.6 He then spent seven months at the Temple Clinic Hospital in Temple, located in Arizona. Dr. Kraft and his family moved to Barrow, Alaska, to serve in the U.S. Public Health Service at Alaska Native Health Service Hospital.7 He served for one year in general surgery residency at United States Public Health Service Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. He went into general practice at Anchorage in Alaska from 1958 to 1960. The final three years of his general surgical residency were completed at the Harlan Memorial Hospital in Kentucky, which is near United Mine Workers Hospital in Appalachia.8 He later returned to general surgery practice at Anchorage Medical and Surgical Clinic from 1963 to 1968.

Missionary to Africa

In 1969, Dr. Kraft moved to Africa, starting what would be nearly four decades as a medical missionary. He became the secretary and the medical director of Ishaka Hospital (formerly Ankole Hospital) in Mbarara, Uganda, East Africa.9 In 1970, he was licensed as a missionary and worked as the director of Health and Temperance of the East African Union in Grove Avenue off Bernard Road, Nairobi, Kenya.10 Between 1971 and 1979, he served as the medical director of Kendu Mission Hospital in Kendu Bay, Kenya.11 In 1977, he served on the board of directors for the Kamagambo Secondary School and Teachers College in Kisii, Kenya.12

After a break of five years, he returned to Kendu in 1984, serving as the medical director for another two years before leaving the position in 1986. He then continued working in Kenya. In 1989, he became the secretary of Tanzanian Union, Arusha Tanzania, East Africa.13 The same year (1989) he became the medical director at Heri Adventist Hospital, Kigoma, northern Tanzania.14 He served at Heri until 1989 when he returned to Kendu. He served again for two years, ending his tour at Kendu in 1989. In 1993, he became a credentialled minister of the South-Africa Union Division, Blantyre, Malawi.15 In 1993, he served as the business manager for the Malamulo Hospital in Makwasa, Malawi.16

Retirement and Death

Ruby Kraft died in 1989 while the family served in Kenya. She was a dedicated woman who faithfully supported her husband throughout his missionary work in Africa. He returned to the United States and, in November 1990, he married Avalon R. Rachelle. The following year, 1991, he returned to Africa with her to Malamulo, where he served until 1995. They returned to Alaska, where he retired but continued serving the SDA Church. Dr. Kraft passed away on August 13, 2015, and was laid to rest in Portland, Oregon. He was survived by his wife, Avalon. His daughter had already passed before him.

Legacy

Dr. Edwin C. Kraft’s left his mark as a medical missionary. On February 11, 1968, prior to joining mission service, he led the “Five-day Smokers’ Clinic” in Anchorage, Alaska. Assisted by Dr. L. David Ekvall, Dr. Edwin Kraft’s program generated a lot of interest, helping many stop smoking. He conducted follow-up meetings to give them added reinforcement in their decision to stop smoking. Several people became interested in joining the Adventist Church. Once, while he was serving as the medical director for Kendu Adventist Hospital, that institution lost one of the student nurses from Uganda due to cancer. Dr. Kraft flew her body across Lake Victoria to her family in Uganda.17 He conducted much evangelism work that led to the baptism of new converts to the Adventist Church. He served in Africa between 1968 and 1995, and during his tenure, he spearheaded the planning and financing of several significant projects that revitalized the hospital infrastructure. He dedicated service at four principal mission hospitals in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and then four years at Malamulo Hospital in Malawi. At Malamulo, in addition to his roles in surgery and administration, Dr. Kraft managed the construction of anotable important building and carried out various renovation projects.

In 1965, he acquired a 1956 Beech Bonanza aircraft, and it became an invaluable asset for his work across Africa. He never flew home on commercial aircraft, instead making six North Atlantic crossings from Africa to the United States. Dr. Kraft found great fulfillment in his mission work and left his mark on the medical, surgical, construction, administrative mission work.

Sources

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/GDJQ-5DX, accessed May 5, 2024.

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/adn/name/edwin-kraft-obituary?id=17983292, accessed May 5, 2024.

Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. Various years. https://www.adventistyearbook.org/.

Wood, Kenneth H. “For the Record.” ARH, June 3, 1982.

Notes

  1. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/GDJQ-5DX, accessed May 5, 2024.↩

  2. Ibid.↩

  3. Kenneth H. Wood, “For the Record,” ARH, June 3, 1982, 22.↩

  4. “Japan Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1925), 139.↩

  5. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/adn/name/edwin-kraft-obituary?id=17983292, accessed May 5, 2024.↩

  6. Ibid.↩

  7. Ibid.↩

  8. Ibid.↩

  9. “Ishaka Hospital,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1969).↩

  10. “Unattached Union Territory, East African Union,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1970), 290.↩

  11. “Medical Institutions, Kendu Mission Hospital 1977,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1972), 379.↩

  12. “Educational Institutions, Kamagambo Secondary School and Teachers College 1977,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1977), 345.↩

  13. “Tanzania Union,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1989), 345.↩

  14. “Heri Adventist Hospital,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1989), 461.↩

  15. “East African Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1993), 63.↩

  16. “Malamulo Hospital,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1993) 463↩

  17. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/adn/name/edwin-kraft-obituary?id=17983292, accessed May 5, 2024.↩

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Sang, Godfrey K. "Kraft, Edwin Carl (1925–2015)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. October 09, 2024. Accessed July 04, 2025. https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=AJP9.

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Sang, Godfrey K. "Kraft, Edwin Carl (1925–2015)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. October 09, 2024. Date of access July 04, 2025, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=AJP9.

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Sang, Godfrey K. (2024, October 09). Kraft, Edwin Carl (1925–2015). Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. Retrieved July 04, 2025, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=AJP9.

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