Dr. Alfred Kritter is remembered for his leadership in the field of orthopedic surgery and his gentle and caring nature for his patients. Dr. Kritter was 93 when he died January 30, 2022. He was especially devoted to helping children with disabilities, according to his obituary.
Dr. Kritter graduated from Marquette University and Marquette Medical School and did his residency there as well. He began his orthopedic practice in Waukesha, Wisconsin in 1960.
He was the first practicing orthopedic surgeon in Waukesha County. As his practice grew with more associate physicians, he named his organization Orthopaedic Associates of Wisconsin which is still active in the community today.
He also founded the Juvenile Amputee and Congenital Limb Deficiency Center at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin as well as the Milwaukee County General Hospital (now Froedtert) Adult Amputee Clinic.
During his long career, he was chief of orthopedic surgery at Waukesha Memorial Hospital, assistant clinical professor of orthopedic surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin and held many local hospital affiliations.
Dr. Kritter published many articles in local, state, and international publications. In addition, he participated in the Doctors Without Borders program, where he traveled from Arizona to Mexico to donate his medical skills to desperately underserved communities in Mexico.
What he is best known for though is his innovative surgical skills and gentle bedside manner which made him a favorite of the patients under his care.
Dr. Kritter retired from his daily practice but not medicine in 1988. A few years later he moved to Tucson, Arizona and then to Charlotte, North Carolina to be closer to his family.
Besides his dedication to orthopedics, he was also active in the military. He served active duty in the Korean War. He re-enlisted in the army as a field physician during the first Gulf War then retired with the rank of colonel.
Dr. Kritter also always loved the outdoors. He enjoyed sailing, fly fishing and bird hunting. And in retirement he took up boat building, bird carving and woodworking. He also learned to fly planes and received his Instrument Flight Rules rating.
Born in Youngstown, Ohio on August 13, 1928, to the late Eugene and Helen Kritter, he had two brothers, Robert and Eugene, as well as two sisters, Evelyn and Virgina, all who preceded him in death. His wife Ruth Catherine Kramer who he married on June 16, 1951, passed away in 2012.
They had six children. He is survived by his three sons, Alfred (Lynn) of Savannah, Georgia, David (Holly) of Prospect Harbor, Maine, and Timothy (Elizabeth) of Madison and two daughters, Mary of Minnetonka, Minnesota and Jane (Steven) of Fort Mill, South Carolina. His third and middle daughter Joanne (Tom) preceded him in death.
He is also survived by 11 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
I will remember Dr Kritter as the gentleman described in the obituary. We spent many hours after he retired hunting partridge and pheasants in SW WI. In January of 2006 Patrick and I visited the Kritters in AZ along with Tim and Charlie. Dr Kritter took me for a sightseeing ride of the desert in his airplane. He was a talented and accomplished man. Peace to everyone in the family.
Thank you. My father was a very kind, generous and gracious man. He was a wonderful father and mentor.
In June 1965, my heel was cut off by a hay mower in a farming accident when I was seven years old. Dr Kritter performed the first reattachment at Waukesha Memorial after convincing other doctors not to amputate my foot. The surgery took fourteen hours; I will always be grateful for the patient demeanor my mother said he had together with resilience and determination!
Now 89 years old, I thank God every day for all Dr. Kritter did for me. I was a polio survivor, married with 2 very young daughters, at Waukesha Memorial Hospital in the process of discussion about possible amputation of my leg. It was 1962 when Dr. Kritter appeared at my bedside. He introduced himself as the new orthopedic surgeon in Waukesha and he turned to my husband and I remember him saying “If she was my wife, I would not consider amputation!” That began a long medical journey for me with Dr. Kritter and today 61 years later, with a walker, I continue to walk and enjoy life.
Thank you JoAnne for your beautiful post. I know Waukesha well, mostly because of Carroll College. Dr. Kritter was truly beloved by both patients and colleagues. Robin Young, Editor