Nancy Kraemer McAvoy

Nancy Kraemer McAvoy died peacefully on December 7, 2025 in San Diego.
Born on January 6, 1931, she was the oldest child of Harriet Falter Kraemer and Edwin Charles Kraemer, Sr. She grew up in Hillside and Caldwell, NJ and lived with her family in Verona, NJ until moving to California in 1973.
Nancy earned a degree in Elementary Education from William Paterson College and taught in Verona Schools. After moving, she worked in the insurance industry and studied to be a Certified Life Underwriter.
She was a dedicated lover of art and music, especially opera. Saturday mornings were devoted to the Texaco radio broadcasts from the Met and later she was a season ticket holder at the Los Angeles Opera.
Nancy shared her own singing talent as a member of the Masterwork Chorus of Morristown, NJ and participated in its productions of Handel's Messiah at both Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Later, she directed the choir of St.Jude's parish in Westlake Village. She and her husband Frank also directed the RCIA program there.
Our extended family will always remember her at the center of our crowded, loud and festive holiday celebrations both on Crestmont Road and Waterby Street, making it all look easy. She also was the originator of our triennial family reunions, organizing the first one in 1995.
She loved to travel both in the US and abroad, especially with her sister-in-law and partner in adventure, Louise Beaty.
She is survived by her five children Ellen Kimmel (Ray), Steven, John (Billie), Michael and Sally Aikin (Dana), five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her brothers, John and Edwin, Jr.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Francis Michael McAvoy, sister, Sally Kraemer Austin and granddaughter Elizabeth Hendry Kimmel.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated on January 29 at 10AM at Our Mother of Confidence Catholic Church, 3131 Governor Drive, San Diego. Burial will take place in St. John the Baptist Cemetery, Madrid, NY at a later date.
Memorial donations may be made to Father Joe's Villages of San Diego, 3350 E St.San Diego, CA 92102 (neighbor.org) an organization dear to her heart.