Wesley Marvin Kramer

Wesley was born in Uvalde, Texas, on November 8, 1942. He grew up in Knippa, Texas with his father, Walter, and brother, Bobby.  He graduated from Knippa High School in 1960.  He briefly attended Southwest Texas Junior College before graduating with a Bachelor of Science from Sam Houston State Teachers College with a double major in history and government.  He enlisted in the US Navy in 1965, graduated from Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, then from the US Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, CA with a Master of Science in Management, specialty in Communications.  He retired as a Commander in 1980.

 

After Officer Candidate School, he deployed on Easter weekend, 1965 on the USS Wahkiakum County in the Caribbean, serving on a Landing Ship Tank (LST) which landed on the beach and deployed Marines.  He was promoted to warfare officer and was transferred near Japan to patrol the Da Nang area during the Vietnam Conflict.  After the conflict was over, he spent time as a combat systems officer aboard a destroyer, armed with both underwater and airborne nuclear weapons through and up into the North Atlantic, carrying out war games. He left the sailor life and served as associate professor of naval science at Tulane University in New Orleans until he retired from the Navy in 1985.  He moved to San Antonio and began a Naval Junior Reserve Officers Training Corp (NJROTC) program at Southwest High School, where he taught until retirement from education in 2000.   

 

During his Naval Career, he was awarded a Navy Commendation Medal (3 awards), a Vietnam Campaign Medal, a Vietnam Service Medal, a National Defense Service Medal, a Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with 3 Stars, a Meritorious Unit Commendation Medal, and a Defense Meritorious Service Medal.

 

He is survived by his wife and love of his life of 46 years, Nancy Sparks Kramer; one brother, Bobby Kramer and wife, Linda, of Uvalde; 3 daughters, Charla Garcia and husband, Robert, of Uvalde, Misti Fuentes and husband, Gabriel, of Fair Oaks Ranch, and Amy Kramer, of San Antonio; five grandchildren, Megan Fuentes of Austin, Hayden Fuentes of San Marcos, Bailey Guerrero and husband, Edward, of San Antonio, and Hannah McFarlen and husband Leelynn of Corpus Christi, and Christian May of Austin; one great-grandchild, Kessler McFarlen; two nephews, Leslie and Robert Kramer, and one niece, Cheryl Watts, and their families. 

Pallbearers will be Robert Garcia, Hayden Fuentes, Gabriel Fuentes, Christian May, Edward Guerrero, and Wayne Carter. 

Honorary pallbearers will be Leelynn McFarlen, Robert Kramer and Leslie Kramer.  

Memorial donations may be made to Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Knippa, attn: Memorial in Memory of Wesley Kramer, P.O. Box 130, Knippa, Texas,  78870.