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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING THE LIFE AND WORK OF DR. MARJORIE RUTH FUJARA
WHEREAS, Marjorie Ruth Fujara, MD, FAAP passed peacefully from life alongside family at Evanston Hospital, Evanston, Illinois on October 19, 2021; and
WHEREAS, a graduate of St Juliana’s and Resurrection High School in Chicago, she received her BA from the University of Illinois in Champaign, her MD from University of Illinois in Chicago in 1992, and completed her Pediatric residency at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis; and
WHEREAS, Marjorie became board certified in both Pediatric and Child Abuse Pediatrics and was assigned to the Division of Child and Family Wellness at Cook County Health. As part of the pediatric unit, she began to specialize in child-abuse cases. She became a passionate, compassionate, and tireless advocate for children and was recognized with many awards and accolades for her work with victims of child abuse and family violence. But she also recognized and advocated for helping the families who were caught up in the system, from problems of poverty, lack of education, and lack of access to appropriate resources. She was a role model for many on how to advocate for children and families; and
WHEREAS, she served as acting Director of the Division of Child and Family Wellness for a period of time and was the Medical Director for Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) from October 2001 to October 2020. CAC is a unique collaboration that brings child protection, law enforcement, and healing services together to respond to, treat, and ultimately prevent child abuse; and
WHEREAS, she also served as the Project Director of Project CHILD, US DOJ’s Child Safety Forward from October 2019 until her death. As project director, she managed a three-year $750,000 grant from the Department of Justice to reduce child fatalities and recurring injuries from abuse and neglect in Cook, Peoria, and Vermillion Counties in Illinois; and
WHEREAS, Marjorie was an activist at heart and considered activism a part of her responsibility as a medical doctor. She would reach out to local elected officials to help to address issues of concern, like the rollback of the sales tax and how it would impact the Cook County Health and Hospital System (CCHHS); the lack of speech services for children and adults at CCHHS; and long pharmacy lines at the hospital; and
WHEREAS, Marjorie described herself as a trauma-ACE (Adverse Childhood Experience) informed urban pediatrician, privileged to care for refugees and immigrant families seeking safety, and young survivors of trauma; and
WHEREAS, despite hardship in her own life, Marjorie always focused on the positive and was curious about others and their lives. Friends described her as sweet, funny, thoughtful, smart - the kind of person you just wanted to be around. A colleague remembered the time she took his daughter to a K-pop concert at the United Center along with her daughter, although she really didn’t know his daughter. She just learned that they had a common interest and invited her to come; and
WHEREAS, Marjorie was a beloved and caring wife, mother, sister and aunt. She is survived by her husband Karl Kuhrman; four children: Judson, Sam, Mariana, and Jacob; two brothers, nieces, a nephew, and many other family members who loved her dearly. She was the daughter of Harold and Marianne Fujara of Chicago, Illinois both of whom preceded her in death. She will be sorely missed by her family, friends, colleagues, and members of St. Nicholas Church in Evanston.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners, on behalf of the 5.2 million residents of Cook County, honors the life and work of Dr. Marjorie Ruth Fujara, and herewith expresses its sincere gratitude for the invaluable contributions she made to the Citizens of Cook County, Illinois; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be spread upon the official proceedings of this Honorable Body and that an official copy of same be tendered to the family of Dr. Marjorie Ruth Fujara.
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