Beatrice David "B.D." Krakoff

Beatrice David (“B.D.”) Krakoff passed away peacefully on October 1, in Providence, Rhode Island. She was a longtime resident of Bexley where she and her husband raised their children, and where she pursued her lifelong commitment to friends, family, religion and cooking.

Mrs. Krakoff was born on March 25, 1919 in Newport, Rhode Island, the daughter of Herman and Fanny David, who had immigrated from Rumania and Austria at the turn of the twentieth century. Mrs. Krakoff grew up in Newport and Fall River, Massachusetts, where her father was a butcher. The Davids were members of the Touro Synagogue in Newport, the oldest synagogue in the United States. Mrs. Krakoff graduated from BMC Durphy High School in Fall River in 1937, and Simmons College in Boston in 1941.

After completing her college degree, she moved to Washington, DC like so many young people of the Greatest Generation to support the war effort at the Bureau of the Budget. There, she met Major Louis Krakoff from Columbus, and they married in 1942.

After the war, the Krakoffs settled in Columbus. Although her three children occupied the bulk of her time in the 1950s and 1960s, she engaged extensively in numerous other interests. The Krakoffs were very active at Temple Israel where during the 1960s, she was the President of the Sisterhood and Mr. Krakoff was the President of the Temple.

Mrs. Krakoff’s mother taught her the joys of cooking and she maintained that passion throughout her life. After her children left for college, Mrs. Krakoff started “B.D.’s Creative Cooking School” in 1971 in her kitchen on Merkle Road. Initially, she capitalized on the growing interest in cooking by men, marketing her school to young men in Bexley who hoped to impress their girlfriends and wives with their culinary skills. In each class, Mrs. Krakoff taught her students to prepare a full soup-to-nuts meal, and, as her mother always advised her, a beautiful presentation. Word of Mrs. Krakoff’s talent spread, and for 25 years, she offered monthly co-educational classes as well, and ultimately published a book of her recipes.

Mrs. Krakoff’s interests were wide-ranging, from Colonial American furniture to tennis to her superior bridge play. Mrs. Krakoff was extremely proud to be a life-long Democrat, never missed a chance to vote and counted the election of her Massachusetts favorite son, President John F. Kennedy, as a personal triumph. She and her husband loved traveling together and spent time in far flung destinations around the world until his death in Columbus in 1984. She also loved to walk the beaches in Longboat Key, Florida where for 35 years she had vacationed and then resided in the winters.

Mrs. Krakoff lived by the credo that “life is for the living," and continued her many interests and friendships even after moving to Providence in 2002 to be near her daughter, Linda. The entire family is extremely grateful to Linda and her husband Richard for caring for their Mother and Grammy over the past decade.

Most important to Mrs. Krakoff was her family. She was a devoted mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She is survived by her children Linda Silverman (husband Richard) of Providence; sons David Krakoff (wife Sydney Hoffmann) of Chevy Chase, Maryland, and Andrew Krakoff (wife Jeannie Sternberg) of Orinda, California; six grandchildren, Elizabeth Silverman (husband Jonathan Goodman) Boston; Edward Silverman, New York City; Michael Krakoff, Seattle, Washington; Emily Krakoff, Orinda, California; Joseph and Noa Krakoff, Chevy Chase, Maryland; and two great-grandchildren, Henry and Charlotte Goodman, Boston.