Calvin Duffey Cramer

Calvin Duffey Cramer

Lakeland - Calvin Duffey Cramer of Lakeland, Fla., died April 29, 2020. He was 91.

He is survived by his wife, Sandra Fay Cramer; children, Cheryl (John Peel) Cramer, Susan Heiss, Craig (Ellen) Cramer, David (Laura) Cramer, William (Marilynn) Markle, and Becky Jo Markle; grandchildren, Nancy (Kim) Willow, Nathan Cramer, Rebecca Heiss, Corey (Noah Kucij) Cramer, Alex (Melissa) Cramer, Molly (Ethan Nelson) Cramer, Andrew Markle, Erin (Adam) Haun, Angelina Jo Markle-Silva, and Gabriella Markle-Silva; great-grandchildren, Dallas (Kristi) Perez, Alexis (Cameron) Yerton, Matilda Kucij, and Hayes Cramer; and great-great-grandchildren, Paxton Perez and Chance Yerton.

Calvin was born in Washington, D.C., on June 26, 1928, the youngest of three boys (brothers Hugh H. Cramer 1920-1980 and Admiral Shannon Davenport Cramer, Jr. 1921-2012), to Shannon Davenport Cramer and Mary Eileen Hazen (née Duffey) Cramer.

He graduated in 1947 from Washington's Central High School, where he was class president and lettered in football, basketball and track.

After briefly attending Princeton University, Calvin returned to Washington and married his high school sweetheart, Carol Joanne Seaman in 1948. Starting as an apprentice, he worked in all aspects of the printing trade, including for Washington's Evening Star newspaper and in a small printing shop he ran with his best friend from high school. He played for the Union Printers basketball team in Washington's industrial leagues, and he and Carol were also youth leaders at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Kensington, Md.

In 1963, Calvin took his printing skills to the U.S. Civil Service Commission. But dissatisfied with being a government bureaucrat, he made a leap of faith and took a job as director of Sky Lake United Methodist Church Camp in Windsor, N.Y., in 1970. For the next 20 years, he followed his passion for outdoor Christian education there and at other administrative positions in western and central Pennsylvania. He was widely recognized as a national leader in church camping programs.

Calvin and Carol retired to Lake Wales, Fla., in 1990, to be closer to Carol's mother, Ruby (née Swanson) Seaman. Calvin stayed active by serving as an assistant basketball coach for several local colleges. After Carol's death in 1993, he married Sandra Fay Cramer in 1996, his loving and caring wife until death. They traveled together extensively and attended Unity in the Grove Church in Lakeland, where he served as president of the board of directors for three years.

Calvin will be remembered for his sharp wit and sense of humor, as well as his fierce loyalty to those he loved. He touched the lives of untold numbers of people, lending an ear, a hand and his heart --particularly to those navigating the path from youth to adulthood.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Sky Lake Campership Fund. A celebration of Calvin's life will be held at a date to be announced.