George Kramer

1933 - 2015

Kramer, George B. George Kramer of Batavia, Illinois peacefully passed on to our Lord, January 24, 2015. He was born August 20, 1933 to Evelyn (nee Holter) Kramer and Herman B. Kramer of rural Aurora, Illinois. George was raised on a dairy farm and attended a one-room schoolhouse on Deerpath Road, just down the road from where the family lived at the corner of Deerpath and Seavy Roads. He loved riding horses all his life and was happy to see the homestead used to board horses and train riders. Early on in his life, George became a stellar athlete and excelled at football. He attended Marmion Military Academy from 1947-51 and in 1995 was inducted into their Athletic Hall of Fame. George also received the Centurion Award from Marmion in 2010. After graduating high school, George attended Dayton University on a football scholarship. He returned home after a year to help on the farm and would not return to college until the early 70's when he attended Waubonsee Community College, and continued on at Lewis University to earn his Bachelor's Degree in Law Enforcement. The love of football and sports kept George actively involved in semi-professional football and professional wrestling throughout the late 50's and early 60's. He played for the Aurora Clippers and the Elmhurst Travelers and enjoyed a great relationship with a number of notable local heros. He is also remembered by many for the years of wrestling in the Midwest area as "Tiny Kramer." Behind every great man is an even greater woman, and George met up with that fantastic lady after high school. Trudy (Bark) grew up in Sandwich, Illinois and was introduced to George through mutual friends. They married in 1953, shortly before George entered the Army, and they resided at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. There, they started their family while stationed on the base. George returned to Batavia in 1955 and became a police officer. He began a 23 year career with Batavia and was well known for his work with juvenile offenders. He was very proud of being honored with the Batavia Citizen of the Year award. In 1976, he was elected president of the Illinois Police Association. He also belonged to several boards including the International Sheriff's Association, the International Narcotics Officers Association and the Illinois Chief of Police Association. With the assistance of good friend Pete Perez, he created the Kane County Juvenile Officer's Association. George was best known as Sheriff Kramer. He was elected sheriff in 1978 and served two terms. He served as the president of the Illinois Sheriff's Association, and Kane County Chiefs of Police Association. George is fondly remembered for his participation in the Sheriff's Mounted Patrol. Under his leadership, the patrol marched in the Cotton Bowl Parade, the Rose Bowl Parade, and the Orange Bowl Parade. They also marched in many local parades in Kane County. George was a loving husband, father, uncle, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend, who will be greatly missed by all who knew him. George is survived by his wife, Trudy (nee Bark) Kramer; seven children, David, Delores Hubbard, Donna (Tim) Gahan, Don (Kelly), Duane (Liz), Denise (Jeff) Bumbar, and Dana (Roger) Clark; siblings, Ron (Diane) Kramer, Daniel (Chris) Kramer, and Ann Gette; grandchildren, Megan Kramer, Hannah Kramer, Matt Kramer, Molly Kramer, Sarah (Menton) Matthews, Brad (Kelly) Hubbard, Brian (Brandis) Hubbard, Patrick Wegman, Whitney (Jason) Jorgenson, Christopher (Ashley) Gahan, Colin Kramer, Amanda Kramer, Holly Kramer, Danielle (Brad) Tenney, Nicole Kramer, Olivia Bumbar, and Haley Clark; great-grandchildren, Bosch, Calla, Bryn, Noraea, Sean, Brady and Avery. He was preceded in death by his parents; daughter, Debra (Pat) Wegman; daughter-in-law, Cathy Kramer; brother, Vince; sister, Rosie Kellerman; and brother-in-law, Phil Gette. Visitation will be held on Friday, January 30th from 2:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at Moss Family Funeral Home, 209 S. Batavia Ave. (Rt. 31) in Batavia. Funeral services will begin with prayers at the funeral home on Saturday, January 31st at 9:30 a.m. before proceeding to Holy Cross Catholic Church to celebrate Mass at 10:00 a.m. Interment will follow in Marywood Cemetery in Aurora. Memorials may be directed to CASA Kane County, 100 S. Third Street Suite 460, Geneva, IL 60134 or www.casakanecounty.org. For additional information please call the Moss Family Funeral Home in Batavia at 630-879-7900 or www.mossfuneral.com.