Mrs. Ellen A Cramer's Obituary
Ellen A. Cramer (nee Heuser), age 94, of Spring Lake passed away on January 11, 2015 after a brief illness. The only child of Arthur and Palma (Bollinger) Heuser, Ellen was born in Arcadia, Wisconsin on April 10, 1920, but soon moved to Cochrane, Wisconsin where she lived most of her early years. Her mother became ill at an early age and Ellen provided much of the care and support that she needed. After high school, Ellen left home to attend Teachers College in Eau Claire where she met Rolf Cramer in the college choir. They married in 1945 after Rolf returned from national service in India during WWII. They then started a family (Michael and Larry) in Wautoma, Wisconsin while living near friends and relatives. In 1951 the family moved to Alaska where Rolf worked in aviation for the CAA (now FAA). The years in Alaska were sometimes trying for Ellen; adding two boys (Paul and Kenneth) to the family and raising all four sons in the Alaskan frontier conditions without the support of her Wisconsin family. In 1961, the family relocated to St. Joseph, Missouri where Ellen continued to support her children and husband. With the boys mostly grown or off to college she returned to the local state college to enhance her teaching qualifications; after which she taught elementary school for several years. Ellen had a great singing voice and played the piano well. Ellen was a strong and committed Christian and her involvement in the Lutheran church was very important to her throughout her life. For years she sang in the choir at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and she traveled and sang with Sweet Adelines. She also enjoyed square dancing with Rolf nearly every week and they traveled widely to conventions. When Rolf became ill, Ellen nursed him until he passed away in 1997, once again doing what she saw as her Christian duty to the fullest. In 2008, living alone in St. Joseph became too difficult for her so she moved to Michigan to be close to her eldest son, Michael. Over the years, her four sons and their families have looked forward to returning to this warm, loving, generous, caring, and gentle woman. She is survived by her four sons, three grandsons, three granddaughters, four great-grandsons and four great-granddaughters. We will all miss her kind heart, graceful spirit, and generous nature and will remember her always as a wonderful, loving Mother.
A Memorial Service will be held at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in St. Joseph, Missouri, in July of 2015. Share memories with the family at their online guest book at www.vbkfuneralhome.com.
The family is being served by VanZantwick Bartels Kammeraad Funeral Home of Grand Haven.
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