Father Kramer was born in Aurora, Illinois, on November 28, 1940. He was the oldest of five children born to Raymond J. and Mary R. (Kies) Kramer. Two brothers survive him – Donald (Nikki) and Robert (Hilaire). Two siblings have pre-deceased him – Ronald (Ellen-deceased) and Barbara Jean.
He attended Saint Nicholas Grade School in Aurora for his elementary education. Then he attended Marmion Military Academy in Aurora from 1954 to 1956. He entered the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, in September 1956. The Josephinum remains to this day the only seminary in the western hemisphere directly under the Holy See. The Apostolic Nuncio to the USA is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees and the Chancellor of the seminary. Father was ordained to the priesthood at the Josephinum on May 28, 1966, by the late Egidio Cardinal Vagnozzi, then the Apostolic Delegate to the United States.
Father Kramer’s first assignment was as parochial vicar of Saint Peter Church in Rockford on July 14, 1966. At the same time, he was assigned to teach at Boylan Central Catholic High School in Rockford for the school year 1966-1967. He was then assigned as the parochial vicar of Saint Mary Parish in DeKalb from August 15, 1967, until September 14, 1970. During that time, he was also assigned to teach in the parish grade school in DeKalb and at Notre Dame High School in DeKalb. In cooperation with the newly formed Diocesan Religious Education Department, he worked with an electrical engineer and helped to build a CCTV television station at Notre Dame High School. The plan was to use CCTV to distribute religious education materials throughout the Diocese using this facility. However, it was never able to do this because of a change in diocesan plans.
On September 15th, 1970, he was assigned as the Parochial Vicar of Saint Mary Church in Elgin. His work included teaching at the parish grade school there. His assignment there ended on August 15, 1973. At that time, he was assigned to graduate school at Northern Illinois University to study radio, television, film, and speech communication for a Master’s Degree. Bishop O’Neill also appointed him to be the Director of Communications for the Diocese of Rockford at this time. Father Kramer celebrated the Sunday Masses on WREX-TV in Rockford every week from the autumn of 1973 until 1981 with rare exception. He lived at the rectory in Sycamore during the time of his graduate studies. When the Pastor there was transferred, Father was made the Administrator of Saint Mary Church in Sycamore. He received his Master’s Degree in May of 1975, and shortly thereafter, he was asked to move to Rockford, where he established the Office of Communication in what was known as the White House in those days. Eventually, he was asked to live in the former Saint Edward High School. During this time as a Chancery Office official, he was asked numerous times to serve the Administrator of a number of parishes. These include Saint Catherine Church in Freeport, Saint Ann Church in Warren, Saint John the Evangelist Church in Hanover, Saint Catherine of Genoa, and Saint Thomas Aquinas in Freeport. In the August of 1978, Bishop O’Neill asked him to serve as the Administrator of Saint Flannen in Harmon and Saint Mary in Walton “for 6 months.” In June of 1979, he was made the Pastor of Harmon and Walton and would stay there until 1992. At the same time, he was assigned to teach three days a week at Newman Central Catholic High School in Sterling. He taught there from 1979 to 1992 and even had the yearbook dedicated to him by the students. In June of 1986, the Vicar of Clergy asked Father to also become the Pastor of Saint Patrick Church in Maytown. He held that position from June of 1986 until the Fall of 1992.
In the autumn of 1992, Bishop O’Neill asked Father to be the Administrator of Saint Mary Church in Rockford while the Pastor was on sabbatical in Ireland. Father Kramer stayed there until August of 1993, when he was assigned as Administrator of Saint Joseph Church in Harvard since Father Hubert McGinn, the Pastor, was dying from cancer. In June of 1994, he was made the Pastor of Saint Joseph Church. His last official parish assignment was as Pastor of Saint Mary Church in Oregon from June 2003 until June 30, 2011. He was granted retirement from the active administration of a parish at that time. He had since taken up retirement in his home in Harmon until the time of his death from pancreatic cancer.
When the concept of Presbyteral Councils was formulated after Vatican II, such a Council was established in the Diocese of Rockford. Soon after its formation, Father Kramer was elected to be the Secretary of the Council. He would hold that position for nearly forty years, and for a few years, he served as the Treasurer of the Council. This involved sending out monthly minutes of the meetings for most of those years.
Father also ministered to the needs of the widowed people of the Diocese through the NAIM Movement during the late 70’s forward to the present time. At one time in the past, there were four or five localized groups in NAIM around the Diocese. Today, there remains one in Dixon.
Father Kramer was invited to join the Order of the Equestrian Knights and Dames of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in 2001. He was knighted in the fall of 2001. He became very active in the Order and by 2009 was being trained to lead Pilgrimages to the places sacred to Jesus in the Holy Land. As Pilgrim Master, he would lead a total of four Pilgrimages to Israel and was awarded his special shell of Saint James by the Patriarch of Jerusalem. Later, he was also honored by the Order, which gave him the Bronze Palm of Jerusalem for his labors. He celebrated his 45th anniversary of ordination in Capernaum in 2001 by celebrating Mass in the house of Saint Peter. He also earned the position of Knight Commander in the Order. You see him garbed in that special vestment in his casket.
Father Kramer was also active in the Knights of Columbus and was a member of the Knights and a fourth-degree Sir Knight for over fifty years. He joined the Knights in 1968. Since 2003, he has also served as the Faithful Friar of Assembly #1702 in the Sterling Deanery, where he lives.
He made his Cursillo weekend in 1970 along with his Dad. He became more active in the Cursillo movement in the late 1980’s and served as the Spiritual Director of a number of Men’s and Women’s Cursillos. He retired from that in 2016, but remained faithful to the movement and encouraged people to take part in this Faith renewal.
In the secular world, Father Kramer also served as the President of many Clerical Associations in the towns and cities where he served. He also worked assiduously in the Chamber of Commerce in Harvard and served as the President of the Harvard Chamber. Later, when he was moved to Oregon, he served as the President of that Chamber of Commerce for two years, as well as encouraging the merchants in both cities to be proud of their various businesses.
Father Kramer was also a very loyal alumnus of the Pontifical College Josephinum. He attended the various reunions both at the seminary and here in the Diocese. He was voted in as the President of the Josephinum Alumni Association in 2005 for a ten-year term of office. During that time, he was very privileged to be nominated to serve as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Josephinum by Pope Saint John Paul II for two three-year terms and then for his final three-year term by Pope Benedict the XVI. He served then for a total of nine years during some interesting times! He went with Josephinum alumni in 1998 to rededicate the Josephinum to Pope Saint John Paul II in the Vatican. There was a special Mass celebrated with His Holiness and the Rector of the Josephinum at that time, Father Blasé Cupich. As you know, Father Cupich later would become Cardinal Cupich in Chicago. Father always felt lucky to have known the Cardinal all those years. Father served under Bishop Lane, Bishop-elect Carroll, Bishop Arthur J. O’Neill (who was his second Pastor!), Bishop Thomas G. Doran, and now Bishop David Malloy.
Father was so pleased to be named a CO-PARADE MARSHALL for the 2024 WALTON Fest. He loved the parish there and considered it to be one of his favorites in his whole priesthood.
Father Kramer was also an active member of the Luxembourg American Cultural Society and was very proud of his Luxembourgish heritage. He was proud to concelebrate the Mass each August during the annual gathering of the members of the Luxembourg American Cultural Society. He had hoped to apply for his citizenship in Luxembourg, but time ran out on him in that pursuit.
Father Kramer was a musician…an organist and pianist. He was asked to serve as the Cathedral organist and Choir Director from December 2011 until Memorial Day of 2012. He loved history; he collected antique clocks and had 28 functioning chiming clocks in his Harmon home. He always loved the priesthood…expressed his desire to be a priest at the age of four. In retirement, he had the chance to help out at most of the 18 parishes in the Sterling Deanery. He was proud to have a chapel in his home, and Bishop Doran granted him the privilege of retaining the Eucharist there in his chapel. Father considered the Lord the One Whom he trusted all his life, and especially during the time of his seven cancers. He had no hesitation about death but saw it as a time to be united to Jesus, the High Priest whose priesthood he shared on earth for fifty-nine years.
Visitation will be held on Thursday, May 7, 2026, from 3-7 PM at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Amboy. Celebration of the Mass of Christian Burial will follow on Friday at 11 AM in St. Patrick Catholic Church in Amboy. Burial will conclude on Saturday at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Aurora.
Memorial may be given in his memory to the Pontifical College of Josephinum Seminary.
