Ernest Nissley Kraybill, 92, died May 23, 2026, after a brief illness, in Chapel Hill, N.C. He was born Oct. 27, 1933, near Elizabethtown, Pa. He graduated from Lancaster Mennonite High School and Eastern Mennonite College. He married Eunice Irene Kauffman of Harrisonburg, Va., on June 20, 1959.
Ernie graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1962 and practiced family medicine for two years in southwestern Virginia. He completed a residency in pediatrics and a fellowship in neonatal-perinatal medicine at the Children’s Hospital of the District of Columbia. Board-certified in pediatrics and neonatal-perinatal medicine, he was appointed to the staff of the Children’s Hospital and the department of pediatrics of the George Washington University, where he worked from 1969 to 1972.
In 1972 Ernie was recruited by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to develop a division of neonatology. He served as division chief through 1987. He developed a fellowship training program in neonatal-perinatal medicine and was appointed professor of pediatrics. He helped create the program for regionalization of perinatal medicine in North Carolina, received the Pioneer Award for Reduction of Infant Mortality and was appointed to the Order of the Long Leaf Pine by Gov. James B. Hunt.
In the 1980s he became a consultant to perinatal programs in the German Democratic Republic. Over the next decade he made many visits and forged lasting relationships with colleagues in East Germany. His pioneering exchange culminated in co-chairing international symposia on the prevention of prematurity, held in East Germany in 1988 and the U.S. in 1990. In 1992 he was appointed chair of the UNC-CH School of Medicine Institutional Review Board, reviewing research on human subjects. He continued this work well into retirement.
Ernie was an avid gardener, woodworker and steward of the family’s 10-acre property outside Chapel Hill. Ernie and Eunice traveled extensively, including trips throughout the U.S. and to Africa, Asia, Europe, and South and Central America. He was a longtime member of United Church of Chapel Hill. In 2010 Ernie and Eunice moved to Carolina Meadows, a retirement community in Chapel Hill.
He is survived by his wife, Eunice; children Ann Kraybill (Greg Colling) of Vermont, Debbie Bevin (Chris Bevin) of Chapel Hill and David Kraybill (Kristi DeCaminada) of California; and two grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Aug. 15 at Carolina Meadows Retirement Community, 100 Whippoorwill Lane, Chapel Hill, N.C.
