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Obituaries

By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, January 27, 2002

Eugene Kraft, Serta Detroit chairman

Kraft

ROMULUS, Mich. — Longtime bedding manufacturer and inventor Eugene Kraft, chairman of Restokraft Mattress Co./Serta Detroit, has died at his Boca Raton, Fla., winter home. He was 83 and was semi-retired.

Kraft, who was on kidney dialysis, was eulogized as a "warrior of the human spirit." His son, Larry Kraft, president and chief executive officer of Serta Detroit, said Eugene Kraft was a role model to his family and to his fellow dialysis patients.

"He showed them how to live life to the fullest," said the younger Kraft. "He loved to travel and even took a Mediterranean cruise in August, using an insulin pump and getting dialysis on the ship while he was in Monte Carlo."

Eugene Kraft joined Restokraft Mattress in 1948. His father, Harry, had founded the company in 1918. Restokraft became a Serta licensee in 1953 and Eugene Kraft became president and CEO in 1970. He created and patented designs for mattresses and mattress pads and was the first to put handles on the sides of mattresses.

He supported many charities through his family's foundation. In 1999, the Holocaust Memorial Center in West Bloomfield, Mich., recognized him with its Legacy Award for donating $1 million to the center's planned museum complex. The gift was in the name of Kraft and his wife of 55 years, Mignon, who died in 1998.

In addition to Larry Kraft, survivors include a daughter, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Luke Massaro, veteran rep

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Luke F. Massaro, who had a 50-year career as a furniture manufacturer's representative, has died. He was 77.

Massaro sold such lines as Lane, Bassett and Burlington. He retired in 1997. He was a member of the Empire State Home Furnishings Representatives Assn., and served a term as president.

He is survived by his wife.

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