William Kramer

William E. "Bill" Kramer Jr., 70, of Grants Pass died Sunday, May 4, 2008, at his home. A celebration of his life will be held at 3:30 p.m. May 17 at 155 Parkhill Place in Grants Pass. Contributions may be made to Victory Junction Gang Camp, for children with chronic and serious health issues, 4500 Adam's Way, Randleman, NC 27317. He was born March 26, 1938, in Sacramento, Calif., to Dorothy Hammond and William Kramer. In 1956, he graduated from Santa Rosa High School in Santa Rosa, Calif. He joined the Navy and served aboard the aircraft carrier Bennington for two years. After he was discharged, he worked in the construction field. He later joined the iron workers union and helped construct the Transamerica building and the Bay Area Rapid Transit tunnel, which runs under San Francisco Bay and links Oakland, Calif., and San Francisco. On June 19, 1965, he married Linda C. McLean, who survives. They moved to Eagle Point, where they had a small ranch and raised horses and cattle. After living in Oregon for three years, they returned to Santa Rosa and continued raising horses and sold livestock. While his family lived in Santa Rosa for 10 years, he was a Boy Scout leader, a 4-H leader and a founding member of the West Coast Gymkhana Boosters horse club, for which he announced most weekends for several years. He also participated in several bowling leagues and competed in tournaments in the northern California/Nevada area. In 1987, he moved his family back to the Rogue Valley. He continued bowling and achieved a perfect 300 game and several 299 games on the Men's Classic League at Caveman Bowl. He was a member of the Rogue Valley Chevy Club and, along with his sons-in-law, he rebuilt a 1957 two-door, hard top Chevy Bel Air. He also rebuilt a 1957 two-door Oldsmobile Super 88. His final restoration was another 1957 two-door, hard top Chevy Bel Air. Along with his wife, he enjoyed cruising in the Boatnik parade each year and showing his car in the Back to the '50s car show. He enjoyed playing poker, hunting, reading and gardening. He especially enjoyed his grandchildren. In addition to his wife, survivors include three daughters, Beckey King of Central Point, and Loree Day and Coral Copenhaver, both of Grants Pass; three sisters, Joanne Caves of Gold Hill, Shirley Eskew of Huntington, Tenn., and Wendy Bergman of Eagle Point; a brother, Larry Kramer of Fairfield, Calif.; and three grandchildren.