Kermit E. Krantz

Kermit E. Krantz, M.D., L.L.T.D., of Prairie Village, Kansas, passed away Monday, July 30, 2007. Funeral services will be held Thursday, August 2nd, 2 p.m., at The Village Presbyterian Church, 6641 Mission Road, Prairie Village, Kan. Visitation will be held on Wednesday, August 1, at McGilley State Line Chapel, 12301 State Line Road, Kansas City, Mo., from 5-7 p.m. Private graveside services. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to the Endowment Association, KU Medical Center, for the Kermit E. Krantz Chair, or to the Kermit E. Krantz Society. Dr. Krantz was born June 4, 1923, in Oak Park, Ill. From 1959 until 1990 he was Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Kansas Medical Center. He was one of the developers of the MMK (Marshall, Marchetti, Krantz) medical procedure for incontinence and performed the operation over 5,000 times. As a graduate of Northwestern University, he held a bachelor of Science and also a master of Science in Anatomy. He served his residency at Cornell Medical College (NYC). Dr. Krantz was Assistant Professor at the University of Vermont and Assistant Professor at the University of Arkansas; in addition, he was Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Kansas for 31 years. During his distinguished medical career, Dr. Krantz was renowned worldwide in his field. He was a Markel Scholar in Medical Science, served on the Executive Committee of the National Association of Planned Parenthood Physicians, was President of the International Family Planning Research Associates, and also President of the Society of Medical Consultants of the Armed Forces. Dr. Krantz served as Chairman for the Committee on Gynecological Practice/American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists, and as Examiner for the American Board of Gynecologists. From 1984 through 1992, he was on the Scientific Advisory Board for the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. Throughout his medical career it was always Dr. Krantz's goal to place the patient at the top of the priority ladder, no matter what their race, religion or economic background may have been. A pioneer and leader for KU Medical Center, Dr. Krantz is largely credited with desegregating labor and delivery and the nursery in the hospital in the early 1960s. In his lifetime Dr. Krantz received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Bowens-Brooks Fellowship- N.Y. Academy of Medicine, Literary DoctorateWilliam Woods University, and the Distinguished Service Award from the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists. In 1985, he received the Outstanding Civilian Service Medal from the Secretary of the Army. Dr. Krantz is listed on the Hall of Fame at Oak Park and River Forest High School and in 1990 he was honored as the first University Distinguished Professor at the University of Kansas School of Medicine, where he also served as Associate to the Executive Vice-Chancellor for Facilities Development. From 1972 to 1974, he was Dean for Clinical Affairs (Chief of Staff) at KUMC. In 2004, Northwestern University honored Dr. Krantz by dedicating the Arey/Krantz Museum of Anatomy at the Feinberg School of Medicine. Over 75 books or book contributions were credited to Dr. Krantz, along with nine educational/instructional movies; he was also a 32nd Degree Mason and the holder of four patents. He was preceded in death by his identical twin brother Quentin, two other brothers and three sisters. He is survived by one brother, Andrew Krantz of Des Moines, Iowa. Dr. Krantz leaves behind his wife of 61 years, Doris Cole Krantz. He also leaves behind daughter Pamela Huffstutter and husband Richard; daughter Sarah Krantz and husband David Smalley; son Kermit T. Krantz and wife Cyri Layton Krantz; six grandchildren, Wesley Huffstutter and wife Amanda Lotz of Ann Arbor, Mich., Clayton Huffstutter and wife Shelly of Dallas, Texas, Whitney Smalley of Nashville, Tenn., Rebecca Smalley, M.D., of Madison, Wis., and Cole Tripler and Mollie Meck Krantz of Leawood, Kan. Arrangements by the McGilley State Line Chapel, (816) 942-6180.