Marilyn Ottenberg Krause, MD

Marilyn Ottenberg Krause, MD, left this world peacefully on June 23, 2024, surrounded by her loving family. 

Born in 1940 to parents Alfred and Sadie Ottenberg in Ventnor, NJ, Marilyn’s gentle nature and keen intellect drew her to science early in life. Her decision to become a physician was encouraged by her father, inspired by his courage in battling illness, and solidified with his untimely passing when Marilyn was just in high school. Having committed to that path, Marilyn pursued it with unwavering passion: she married the love of her life, Robert Krause, at age 19 only after they forged a plan for how she, too, would attend medical school; she graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 1962 with a major in biology; and she entered Penn Medical School as one of only four women in her class.

From that point forward and for their 64 years of marriage, “Bob ‘n Marilyn” were inseparable and devoted to providing quality care. In 1966, Marilyn graduated Georgetown Medical School, where she had transferred for Bob’s research post at the National Institutes of Health. Next, she completed her pediatric internship and residency at the prestigious St. Louis Children’s Hospital while Bob completed his residency next door at Barnes Hospital. With their first baby in tow, the couple then returned to D.C. for their respective fellowships in pediatrics and cardiology, before deciding to move closer to their large and loving family, in the Philadelphia suburbs. There, they had two more children and Marilyn bravely blazed the trail for working mothers, initially assisting part-time at public clinics for the City of Philadelphia, and later launching her own pediatric practice right from the family home. 

Her practice and family both thrived. Dr. Krause, as her patients knew her, was a loving, gifted, and attentive physician, meticulous in her care and on call at all hours. And as one of the few remaining general family pediatric doctors in the area, she had long and lasting relationships with generations of local families and was beloved by the children in her practice and their parents. She was also beloved, respected, and admired by her own children not only for her commitment to her calling, but also for her love of literature, learning, opera, and the arts; her dedication to Jewish values and traditions; and her utterly boundless love for her family.

Marilyn is survived by her adoring husband, Dr. Robert L. Krause; her three loving children, the Honorable Cheryl Ann Krause (Brig. Gen. Bradford R. Everman), Aaron Charles Krause (Stephanie Hope) and Dr. Elizabeth Diane Krause (Dr. Peter F. Lebowitz); her cherished grandchildren Zoe and Eli Krause Lebowitz, Sophie Leah and Bryce Ian Krause, and Estelle and John Everman; her loving and devoted sister-in-law Barbara Krause Miller and her children, Jody Loreaux and Dr. Donald Miller; her niece, Roberta Tepper Ortiz and Roberta’s daughter Alyson; and her sister-in-law Kandy Ottenberg and Kandy’s son, Rob.

Family and friends are invited to services Thursday, 11:00 AM, at Beth David Reform Congregation, 1130 Vaughan Lane, Gladwyne, PA. Interment at Mt. Sharon Cemetery. Shiva will be held  in Villanova, PA, on Thurs. 3:00-8:00 pm and on Fri. from 12:00-5:00 pm, and in Voorhees, NJ, on Sunday, 2:00-5:00, with a service at 7:30 (address available upon request at krauseed@sas.upenn.edu).

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Marilyn’s memory may be made to Hadassah or the Alzheimer’s Association.