Robert Kuramoto

CARBONDALE, Colo. - Dr. Robert Kenji Kuramoto lived from June 19, 1946, until Sept. 8, 2025. In his 79 years, he enriched countless lives with his intelligence, gentleness, integrity, generosity, leadership, quiet humor and steady love. He was known as Bob, BobBob, Dr. Bob, The Doctor and Dad to the family, friends, partners and patients who were blessed to share life with him.

The son of Dr. Isamu (Sam) and Ayeko Kuramoto, Bob grew up in Webster City, Iowa, where his father was the town doctor, delivering babies and caring for all those lives, despite active discrimination against Japanese Americans. Bob embraced both sides of his Japanese American identity. Inside the home, his parents quietly protected their heritage with vital gestures like eating rice every night with dinner. Outside the home, he was Bobby, a Midwestern Boy Scout who grew to become an Air Force Captain who loved Corvettes, mountain sports, the Illini and the Cubs, and a beautiful Iowan girl named Jan.

Bob earned his bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Iowa, then attended Indiana University School of Medicine, specializing in otolaryngology and head and neck surgery. Those formative years coincided with the Vietnam War. Dr. Kuramoto served as a U.S. Air Force Captain and Medical Officer at a Strategic Air Command base in Michigan. It was during these years that he married Jan, and the two of them started their life together as parents.

In 1977, Dr. Kuramoto moved his young family to Champaign, where he became a physician partner at Christie Clinic. For nearly four decades, he practiced otolaryngology at Christie. He ultimately served as medical director, helping to guide the growth and quality of one of Illinois' largest multi-specialty group practices. Following his tenure with Christie, in 2001, he became the managing partner of Quick Leonard Kieffer, an executive search firm dedicated to healthcare leadership.

Dr. Kuramoto made an indelible and nationally respected mark on the practice, governance and direction of health care. In 1994, he founded and chaired the Physician Hospital Institute, a national think tank focused on advancing clinical integration and physician-hospital collaboration. He served as adjunct faculty at Arizona State University and as an advisory board member to the New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Kuramoto held leadership positions with notable academic medical centers, major health systems, and national boards and associations, including the American Hospital Association, the Illinois Hospital Association, and the Catholic Health Association. 

For his sweeping contributions, Dr. Kuramoto earned significant professional distinctions, including the Illinois Hospital Association's Excellence in Service Award, election as a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and election as a Fellow of the Institute of Medicine of Chicago. Most importantly, he never strayed from his father's example. He was as likely to see a neighbor's sick child as he was to save an accident victim, or to treat patients in an underserved community, as he was to walk the halls of a top hospital system.

Bob and Jan were wed on May 29, 1970. They shared a marriage that has inspired generations. Together for 55 years, they built a family, successful careers, and enduring friendships. They traveled the world, enriched communities near and far, and shared precious quiet moments. Bob and Jan have three sons, three daughters-in-law and three grandchildren. All of them are blessed by the deep stability and love that Bob and Jan modeled throughout their life together.

Dr. Robert Kuramoto – Bob, Dr. Bob, and BobBob – is survived by his wife, Jan; his sons, Kenji, Kanno and Kai; and their wives, Rachelle, Becca and Jen. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Sam, Stella and Hana, and his sister, Alice.  He was preceded in death by his father, Isamu; his mother, Ayeko; and his stepmother, Evelyn.

Instead of flowers, the family asks for donations to an organization close to Dr. Kuramoto's heart, La Clinica del Pueblo (laclinicadelpueblo.care/donate-to-the-peoples-clinic/) or to a religious organization meaningful to you.