Dr. Kristine (Melby) McCulloch, a physician, educator, and devoted Catholic, died in Atchison, Kansas, on June 16, 2025. She was 78.
Born December 29, 1946, in Duluth, Minnesota, Dr. McCulloch lived a life shaped by scholarship, compassion, and faith. The eldest of six children, the omnipresence of babies in her home while growing up led her to her career in neonatology. She earned degrees in Premedicine (B.S., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1967), Nursing (B.S., St. Xavier College, 1971, Sigma Theta Tau), and Medicine (M.D., University of Nebraska, 1974, Alpha Omega Alpha), one of only eight women in her medical school class of 100.
She was board certified in both pediatrics and neonatal-perinatal medicine and served as attending physician and Assistant and then Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Illinois College of Medicine from 1980 to 2000. She delivered many academic lectures every year, including in several countries in Europe and Western Asia. Her photo was featured in a 1974 National Geographic article on advances in Neonatology.
Dr. McCulloch’s professional excellence was matched by her deep Catholic faith. Her work as a neonatologist serving tiny preemies suffering from in utero drug exposure and other problems stirred in her a deep conviction for the pro-life movement, inspiring her to spend her retirement volunteering at a Catholic crisis pregnancy center and bringing the Eucharist to hospital patients. Together with her husband, she served for decades in the Marriage Encounter movement, impacting many couples' marriages in a deep and beautiful way.
She loved country music, reading, laughing and traveling with her beloved husband of 51 years, authentic Indian food, the Wisconsin State Fair, and adopting aged, infirm cats. A fabulous party hostess, Kris prepared elaborate holiday feasts for her family and was always happy to include a few more guests in the celebration. With eyes that saw the needs of others, she had a gift for engaging the newcomer in conversation, tirelessly reading to her grandchildren and playing games with them, and offering her help at just the right time. Selflessly, she routinely took the uncomfortable seat, the smallest piece, the last turn.
Kristine was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. James McCulloch of Evanston, Illinois, who died in 2021.
She is survived by her son, Michael McCulloch; her daughter, Mary Agnes (“Maggie”) McCulloch Haigh; her son-in-law, John Haigh; ten grandchildren: Allora, Caeli, Charlotte, Cecily, John, George, Dunstan, Tadhg, Hugh, and Emil; and five siblings: Mary Melby, Charlotte Campbell, James Melby, Bill Melby, and Molly Moeller.
A Rosary will be held Friday, June 20, at Arensberg-Pruett Funeral Home, 208 N. 5th St. in Atchison, at 5:30 p.m. with visitation to follow until 7 p.m. Friends and family are invited to come together. A Requiem Mass will be on Saturday, June 21, at 10:00 a.m. at St. James Church in St. Joseph, MO. In lieu of flowers or gifts, please consider making a donation in Kristine McCulloch's memory to the crisis pregnancy center where she volunteered: The Women's Centers of Greater Chicagoland.
