Cover photo for DR. ELMERICE TRAKS's Obituary
DR. ELMERICE TRAKS Profile Photo
1924 DR. 2015

DR. ELMERICE TRAKS

December 5, 1924 — January 23, 2015

Elmerice Traks, M.D., F.A.C.C. died peacefully on Friday, January 23, 2015 at Western Reserve Masonic Community Health Care Center in Medina, Ohio. She was born on December 5, 1924 in Estonia, which is a small, northernmost country of the three Baltic States.
She was raised in Tartu and was still in high school when World War II started. It did not spare Estonia. The country was overrun by the Soviets first, then came German conquest and then again Soviet occupation. Her education was harshly interrupted when the second Soviet invasion struck in full force. Elmerice, her parents, and about 80,000 Estonians escaped narrowly, fleeing to Germany or Sweden, just before Soviet tanks rolled into Estonia again.

When Germany surrendered to the Allied Forces, hundreds of thousands of refugees were gathered into Displaced Persons Camps waiting further disposition or emigration. Many found opportunity to continue their interrupted education. Elmerice entered Eberhard-Karls University of Tubingen in 1946 to continue her studies in medical faculty. Elmerice, and her husband Andreas, applied and were admitted as immigrants to U.S. in the fall of 1951. They became naturalized U.S. citizens in 1957. Dr. Elmerice Traks was a conscientious, knowledgeable physician who made her business to stay abreast of developments in the field of cardiology. She was an important part of the cardiology teaching program as well as an active participant in medical student training. She retired from Cleveland Metro General Hospital in 1987 after 30 years of devoted professional practice. In 2004 she was extended a membership by American Heart Association to the Paul Dudley White Legacy Society, recognizing her legacy to the fight against Heart Disease and Stroke. To help maintain and strengthen their birthland’s educational and cultural profile, and because not having descendants of their own, they decided to create a fund to support financially needy students in Estonia to attain higher education. A scholarship partnership with Tartu University Foundation in Estonia was established in 1996 to award stipends to qualified Estonian students to advance their learning in higher educational institutes in the U.S. or elsewhere in the world.

She is forever lovingly remembered by her husband of 65 years, Andreas A. Traks.
Elmerice was cremated honoring her wishes. A Celebration of Life memorial will be held at a later date. Friends will be advised of the time and place of this special gathering.

Memorial contributions may be made to MetroHealth Foundation, Inc., 3395 Scranton Rd., Cleveland, Ohio 44109 OR Estonian American Fund PO Box 7369 Silver Spring, MD 20907. Arrangements have been entrusted to Carlson Funeral Home & Cremation Services.
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