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Laura Sussman oral history interview

Identifier

OH-03412

Abstract

Oral history interview with Laura Sussman conducted by Barbara Tabach and Claytee D. White on March 15, 2018 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, Laura Sussman, co-owner of Kraft-Sussman Funeral & Cremation Services, discusses the funeral home's role during the aftermath of the October 1, 2017 Las Vegas, Nevada mass shooting. She talks about the collaborated efforts of the funeral home and the coroner's office to care for the deceased, giving some details on the role of a coroner and the specific cases the funeral home was in charge of. Along with the victims, she discusses the potential cremation they were asked to do of the shooter. Throughout the interview, Sussman emphasizes the funeral home's goal of providing support to the families of the deceased.

Archival Collection

Laura Sussman oral history interview

Identifier

OH-03705

Abstract

Oral history interview with Laura Sussman conducted by Barbara Tabach on October 29, 2020 for The Great Pause: Las Vegas Chronicles of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Laura moved to Las Vegas in 1990. She and her wife, Wendy Kraft, own the Kraft-Sussman funeral home in Las Vegas. Laura talks of her work as a funeral director and in the community as President of the Jewish Family Services Agency. She also discusses the impacts of COVID-19 she's witnessed on Las Vegas residents. Subjects discussed include: COVID-19 impacts; traveling during COVID-19; networking with other funeral homes; Jewish Family Services community support

Archival Collection

Laura Sussman oral history interview: transcript

Date

2018-03-15

Description

Oral history interview with Laura Sussman conducted by Barbara Tabach and Claytee D. White on March 15, 2018 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, Laura Sussman, co-owner of Kraft-Sussman Funeral & Cremation Services, discusses the funeral home's role during the aftermath of the October 1, 2017 Las Vegas, Nevada mass shooting. She talks about the collaborated efforts of the funeral home and the coroner's office to care for the deceased, giving some details on the role of a coroner and the specific cases the funeral home was in charge of. Along with the victims, she discusses the potential cremation they were asked to do of the shooter. Throughout the interview, Sussman emphasizes the funeral home's goal of providing support to the families of the deceased.

Text

Laura Sussman and Wendy Kraft oral history interview

Identifier

OH-02577

Abstract

Oral history interview with Laura Sussman and Wendy Kraft conducted by Barbara Tabach on February 17, 2016 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. Sussman and Kraft talk about being business partners in Kraft-Sussman Funeral Home, which caters to the Jewish community. They also talk about the local LGBT community as a lesbian couple.

Archival Collection

Wendy Kraft and Laura Sussman papers, 1997-2013

Level of Description

File

Archival Collection

Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project Community Collection
To request this item in person:
Collection Number: MS-00790
Collection Name: Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project Community Collection
Box/Folder: N/A

Archival Component

Photograph of Kraft Sussman Funeral Services' Laura Sussman, Las Vegas (Nev.), June 16, 2016

Date

2016-06-16

Description

Laura Sussman, co-owner of Kraft Sussman Funeral Services at the company's 3975 South Durango Drive facility.

Image

Photograph of Kraft Sussman Funeral Services' Laura Sussman and Wendy Kraft, Las Vegas (Nev.), June 16, 2016

Date

2016-06-16

Description

Kraft Sussman Funeral Services co-owners Laura Sussman, left, and Wendy Kraft at the company's 3975 South Durango Drive facility.

Image

Transcript of interview with Laura Sussman and Wendy Kraft by Barbara Tabach, February 17, 2016

Date

2016-02-17

Description

They've been referred to as the two Jewish mothers who own a funeral home. At first glance that seems too simple a description. However, it is how they arrived at this description that tells a story of two women who moved here in the late 1990s and whose paths crossed as they became part of the Jewish community of Las Vegas. Laura Sussman arrived first. It was 1997. The Jewish Community Center, a JCC without walls as Laura puts it, hired her as its first executive director. She was from Ohio where there was a robust Jewish tradition. She was director for eight years; then executive director at Temple Beth Sholom. Wendy Kraft moved to the valley in 1999. She was a stay at home mom from Boston, who was accustom to volunteering in the Jewish community. Knowing no one and on the brink of divorce, the Jewish community became her life, a way to build a network of friends and keep her occupied just as it had been in Boston. The two women met through their work with the JCC and love followed. Several years later, in 2009, so did their new business, Kraft-Sussman Funeral and Cremation services. By February 6, 2015, Laura and Wendy had married. They had already formed a family with each other and their three daughters, Leah Sussman, Emma and Elyse Kraft. In this interview they discuss their joint sense of purpose that includes love of family, dedication to the Jewish community, pride in the LGBT identity, and providing caring services to those at the time of funeral services. They talk also of Jewish traditions related to death, the Jewish burial society known as Chevra Kadisha, and challenges of their industry. They share feelings about nonprofits and how they value being actively involved in the community.

Text

Kraft Sussman Funeral Services' Laura Sussman, Las Vegas, Nevada: digital photograph, 2016 June 16

Level of Description

Item

Archival Collection

UNLV University Libraries Photographs of the Jewish Community of Southern Nevada
To request this item in person:
Collection Number: PH-00389
Collection Name: UNLV University Libraries Photographs of the Jewish Community of Southern Nevada
Box/Folder: N/A

Archival Component