Dennis Cramer
Alton |
Dennis Cramer, 67, formerly of Alton, Illinois. packed up his gardening tools, all four of his computers, books, modeling paints, strategy games, pots, pans, and special kitchen knives and left this world on Sunday, October 29th, 2023, from Albuquerque, New Mexico. His loving family surrounded him both physically and virtually (thanks to Facetime) as he departed.
He was born on September 13, 1956, just a week before Hurricane Flossy topped the seawalls and flooded around two and half miles of his hometown of New Orleans. He joined the Air Force after graduating high school, working as an F-4 Phantom II Crew Chief, traveling to California, Japan, and Illinois over his four years of active duty service and two years in the reserves. He was always proud of his time in and association with the military. He said he loved the food–Air Force comfort meal of his favorite rice and gravy–and wished he had stayed in and retired out of the service.
Dennis earned his associates degree in Business Administration at Lewis and Clark Community College and attended Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville taking classes in Construction Management and Business Administration. He worked as an estimator and project manager at Brighton Painting Company, Morrissey Construction, and finally spent 28 years working for Hartman Walsh in the same positions. He would lovingly torment his coworkers with his dry humor, gruff manner, and practical jokes.
Leaving the Air Force in Illinois did work out for him though. He had his daughter, Ashley, in 1981 and eventually met "his person" in 1989. One night at a bar he bet Connie Burnett that horses ate bananas. He wasn't sure if this was true, but he did get her to come out on a date to his Uncle Scotty's farm to check it out. (Turns out, they do eat bananas if they are offered.)
They parted ways after a short time of dating, but would come back together in the mid-2000s. They finally married each other in front of her father's grapevines on May 30, 2009, before Connie served a tour in South Korea after joining the Air Force herself.
There are a lot of things you can say about Dennis beyond the basic biographical points of his life. He was witty. He could grow just about anything. He was charming. He had an effortless dry humor that had you guessing up until the last minute if he was being serious or not. Though deeply private and often solitary, he loved deeply from afar. He had a blunt generosity that sometimes bit him in the butt when he gave people things that he would miss later. He loved to dance in private, rocking out to Pearl Jam, Prince, and the Mahavishnu Orchestra - grabbing his wife by the hand and holding her close or doing a fun, funky, 2-step jig with her the way his Grandma Marie used to do.
Dennis was a maximalist in all parts of his life. He had a keen and unique eye for home decoration, with a life-sized sarcophagus full of CDs, native art, paintings of classic and historical events, Hindu statues, gorgeous rocks, and interesting tchotchkes of all kinds. His loyalty and care for the people he loved knew no bounds. He collected interesting t-shirts depicting monkeys, funny sayings and military history. He never slowed down one bit and enjoyed life to the fullest. He focused on games, on painting models (especially tanks), growing impressive gardens, and snuggling close while watching movies with his wife (always holding hands with her head on his shoulder). When not at home, Dennis and Connie would hit the road to hunt ghosts and good food at haunted bed and breakfasts, check out a local zoo or aquarium, going hiking and exploring Civil War battlefields.
Dennis Cramer loved and is loved. He is survived by his wife, Connie Cramer, his daughter, Ashley (Jake) Dellinger, his grandchildren, Arah (Edmund) Cramer, Nariah DeArmon, and Kyson Westbrook, his mother, Delores Cramer, his sisters, Diana (Larry) Teeters, Deana (Rick) Cheshier, brother-in-law, Jeff Seeloff, niece, Desiree (Jeremy) Randazzio, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. He was preceded in death by his father, Joseph Cramer, sister, Denise Seeloff, his favorite uncle, Leo "Scotty" (Betty) Scott, grandparents and his 3 cats.
Most importantly, he wanted everyone to know he ate some jelly beans.
A celebration of life and Scotch party at Dennis' request will occur at a later date for friends and family. In lieu of flowers and any memorials his family asks you to spend some extra time with your loved ones in remembrance of him.
