Farewell my friend

It is with a very sad heart that I am sharing the news with you that my friend & bridge partner, Carol Kramer, has passed.

Carol and I met when we started playing with the Cameron bridge group at about the same time in December of 2011.  We bonded quickly over our love of a burger & beer and had many fun outings over the years.  We laughed about writing a book about the best burger & beer joints in Barron County.  We were always on the hunt for a new spot to try and we got around.

Carol helped plan, and attended, our inaugural Bridge Retreat.  She was a great cook and the life of the party.  Carol played routinely with the Cameron Bridge group until Covid changed our world in 2020.  

Carol served as President of the Cameron Area Senior Citizens for about 5 years and worked hard to set up bus trips for the Seniors to the Winter Greenhouse each Spring while she was President.  We both agreed to be officers, I said I would be treasurer if she would be President.  We were a good team.

Carol had many health struggles all through her life but you never heard her complain. She had her colon removed in her 20s after several life threatening Chrons episodes.  She had a brilliant career working for Seimens Medical. Her job took her around the world working with new installations, training and sales.  She made close friends everywhere.  I remember her looking forward to her phone calls from friends in Sweden.  Her career set her up for a great retirement with pension and medical.  We both felt lucky for how our careers left us in a position to enjoy our retirement years.

 She volunteered at both The Mayo Clinic and Marshfield Clinic in Rice Lake.  At Marshfield she worked in the gift shop, a natural fit since she was a shopper-extraordinaire.

Carol was a true philanthropist and her interests were many.  I always felt that she believed in 'thinking globally, acting locally' when it came to charitable giving.  She and I attended the annual EATS programs at the local technical college, always participating in the silent auctions and having fun winning a wine rack or garden decoration while supporting the students.  I'll miss those outings. Carol was a champion of the underserved and spent one summer negotiating the display of artwork for a local autistic youth, just to do it.

Carol loved live performances.  She and Pete & I traveled to Eau Claire a number of times to see a show.  We loved the Chippewa Valley Symphony, performances at The State Theater, and Cabaret at the UWEC.  Locally, we attended many a play at either The Red Barn Theater or Northern Star Theater.  

The girl could eat.  Before the pandemic, we had a regular date to eat lunch at The Bar in Rice Lake.  The Bar Burger, that she loved, came with a large beef patty, topped with about 2 inches of sliced ham.  It was a protein mountain, and she never left a bite behind.  We did split the order of fries though.

Carol and I were always on the lookout for a class to take.  We took advantage of a couple of offerings by the Luck Community Ed where we made glass mosaic garden stones.  We took a sign painting class at The Potters Shed in Shell Lake, a cooking class at the Mercantile in Hayward and we went to a Lady's Night event at the Winter Greenhouse were we created succulent gardens.  She was always game to try something new.  We tried one of those wine & painting classes, we had fun, but found that our artistic talents were not strong when it came to painting.

When Peter retired, we did not spend as much time together and when Kim & Dan moved back to Rice Lake, Carol was busier with family.  We still made time for the occasional lunch but primarily kept in touch with phone calls.

Carol and Pete invited me to join them on their boat a number of times.  There were always plenty of fun snacks and cold adult beverages.  They were generous in sharing their lives with me.  We often met at Lehman's for Music on the Grass on Wednesday evenings in the summer.  I loved those nights.  Carol loved to dance and often got Peter out on the dance floor.

If you knew Carol, you knew how much she loved her daughter Kim and son in law Dan, & husband Peter, of course, but the true loves of her life were her little dogs.  Foxy the Jack Russell Terrier led a charmed life and was followed by The Princess Choo Choo.  She was the perfect pet parent, smothering her pets with love and attention.

Carols health changed dramatically starting in about 2019.  It seemed that it was a rapid onset of dementia of some kind, I never talked to either Pete or Kim about it.  Carol called me quite often over the last 6-12 months.  Usually telling me the same thing over and over, always wanting to plan an outing for a burger and a beer.  Some days she would call me back to back, with only moments in between, and always say the same thing, as many as 9 times in a row.  The last time I saw Carol was at Lehman's on a Sunday.  She and Pete were having lunch.  She wasn't exactly sure who I was.  She said "Wanda, right?"  It was almost like the Wanda on her phone, was not connected to the Wanda standing next to her.  Dementia steals so much from a person and her family and friends.  

I saved a few of her last phone messages to me. In one she said the following:  "I would love to go and have a beer with you.  Enjoy your life, it's going fast, I know that."

Rest in Peace my friend.

Stencil sign class at The Potter's Shed in Shell Lake, WI

One of our trips to the Winter Greenhouse 

Before the show in Eau Claire, dinner at Hooligans

Good at drinking wine, not too good at painting.

The County Line Tavern, Rice Lake, WI
Our little Christmas party, I think I had one too many Manhattans on this might.

Valkyrie Brewing in Dallas, WI

Bridge Retreat foolishness

Hayward, WI at Christmas

I am so lucky to have had Carol as my friend.  She was a strong Republican and we agreed from the get-go that we would just agree to disagree and almost NEVER discussed anything political.  Our friendship was strong and it was never an issue.  She might mention going to a Republican fund raiser, and I would maybe mention meeting with the Barron County Dems.

Carol was a practicing Catholic and attended church regularly.  I knew where she was on Sunday mornings and I also knew that I could probably find her and Pete at Lehman's enjoying a Bloody Mary on their way home from Doby church.  In fact, that is the last place that I saw Carol.

My sympathies to Peter, Kim & Dan and little Princess Choo Choo.

Thank you for your kindness in taking time to read about my friend Carol.

💔

Published on Facebook 

Carol Ann Kramer

Age 75, of Cameron, WI, died Thursday, July 7, 2022 at her home.

She was born on December 3, 1946 in Chicago, Illinois.  Carol graduated from Lourdes Catholic High School in Chicago and then she attended college.  Carol worked for Siemens Medical Solutions as a product manager in marketing for over 20 years.  She was married to Peter Kramer in October 1989 in Geneva, Illinois.  

Carol enjoyed her volunteer work at Marshfield Medical Center in Rice Lake in the gift shop and former president of Cameron Senior Center and loved to go shopping with her daughter.  

She is survived by her husband, Peter Kramer; a daughter, Kim (Dan) Sikorski; a stepson, Jason Kramer; a granddaughter, Adah; a brother, Kenneth (Donna) Brazda; 2 nephews, Jason (Theresa) and Joshua (Brooke) and a niece, Jessica.  She was preceded in death by her parents. 

A celebration of her life will be held at a later date so please contact the family for the date and time.  Appleyard’s Home for Funerals in Rice Lake, WI is handling the services for the family.