KRAUS, Marvin Harold, age 96, passed away February 15, 2025, beloved husband of Geraldine “Gerry” Kraus, loving father of Rabbi Jonathan (Maia) Brumberg-Kraus, Christopher (Bari) Kraus, and Rabbi Matthew (the late Rabbi Sissy Coran) Kraus, dear grandfather of Zoya (Louis Haling) Brumberg-Kraus, Max (Allison Jones) Brumberg-Kraus, Emilee (Jake) Maxwell, Cohen Kraus, Jacob (Kim) Kraus-Preminger, Rabbi Shirah Kraus, Micah Kraus, and Eden Kraus, great-grandfather of 5, brother of the late Ruth (the late Robert Oestreicher and the late Charles Lowenthal) Oestreicher.
Marvelous Marvin, also known as “Sonny,” “Max,” Dad, Grandpa, Saba, and Uncle Marvin, lived a life that, he would say, achieved all the things he had hoped to do. Born in Lexington, KY to Max and Jenny (Levy) Kraus, first generation Americans from Crimea and Lithuania, Marvin moved with his family to North Avondale, Cincinnati, a neighborhood that became central to the rest of his life. He attributed his long life to “skiing in the winter and biking in the summer.”
Marvin was a lifelong learner who lived by Sursum ad Summum (“strive to the highest”), the motto of his beloved alma mater, Walnut Hills High School, where he was valedictorian in 1947. He joined 3 of his Jewish classmates at Harvard College, where he majored in Social Relations, and was the Equipment Manager of the Crimson football team. After college, he went to law school, and then was drafted into the army. He was stationed in Heidelberg, Germany for 2 years as a medic. He then joined the law firm of Goldman, Cole and Putnick. He spent much of his career walking back and forth between his 4th street law office to the county courthouse or recorder’s office representing hundreds of lifetime clients in their business and estate transactions. For Marvin, this work was not merely a job; he saw it as a vocation that enabled him to counsel people so they could make choices that would best bring peace and closure to their lives and families.
Family was very important to Marvin. He and Gerry created their own version of the TV show, “My Three Sons,” providing their three sons, Jon, Chris and Matt with wonderful lives that included daily enrichment classes, clubs and Knothole baseball teams, Jewish education, and trips to Cape Cod, the Stratford Shakespeare theater and a memorable bike trip in the Loire Valley. Marvin insisted on being home with his family each night for dinner. Family dinner conversations were lively and meaningful, touching on integration, red-lining and local politics (and the all too-frequent dad-joke, some off-color). He continued to show love and support for his eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Marvin, in partnership with Gerry, had a special relationship with the City of Cincinnati and North Avondale Neighborhood Association (NANA). He was the pro-bono legal counsel of NANA filing lawsuits against city zoning, housing and commercial development. He fought tirelessly against self-interested motives of economic development and on behalf of NANA to maintain a racially integrated, culturally and economically diverse, and beautiful neighborhood.
Most notable was Marvin’s flare for wearing colorful socks, long before it was fashionable. The Cincinnati Enquirer did a style profile of Marvin and his socks in the 90s. A reporter noticed this man who always wore pink, yellow or bright green socks to court, instead of the dark conservative colors of the lawyer uniform. The inquisitive journalist asked why. Marvin said he wore them to brighten people’s day, challenge norms, and put his adversaries on their toes because they didn’t know what to expect from this man with a quirky style. ‘Why should women be the only ones allowed to wear fun socks?’ he remarked with a twinkle in his eye.
Marvin’s calling card read “Counselor and Attorney at Law.” He was this in every respect. A classic listener, humanely interested in the people he met and shared life with, and a zealous advocate for doing the right thing, and doing the thing right.
Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, February 18th, 2025, at 1:00 PM with visitation beginning at 12:00 PM at Weil Kahn Funeral Home, 8350 Cornell Road Cincinnati, Ohio 45249. Services will be LIVE STREAMED. Burial will follow at United Jewish Cemetery of Walnut Hills, 3400 Montgomery Road Cincinnati, Ohio 45207. Shiva will be observed on Tuesday and Wednesday night from 6:00-8:00 PM with minyan beginning at 7:00 PM at Rabbi Matthew Kraus’ Residence.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions to Walnut Hills High School, North Avondale Neighborhood Association (NANA), Rockdale Temple, or the charity of one’s choice would be greatly appreciated.
