Shirley Kramer Obituary

Shirley Kramer was born in Providence, R. I. to Lois and Floyd Buswell. She graduated from Classical
High School in Providence, where she was voted most popular in her class in 1945. From there she went
to Rhode Island State College (now Univ. of R. I.) where she met the love of her life, William Kramer of
Collingswood, N.J. She was one of many new co-eds swept off their feet by the handsome returning
veterans of WWII. They married in 1947, and had their first of three daughters, Christine, while living in
a Quonset hut on campus.
Her husband's jobs took him and his family to many different states other than R. I.: New Jersey,
Connecticut, California, and Massachusetts. Along the way, they had two more daughters, Cheryl and
Claudia, and Shirley gave the family a warm and comforting home no matter where they lived. While in
California (1959-1965), Shirley finally was able to finish her college degree, graduating from the Univ. of
California Fullerton with a degree in elementary education. Six years later, back in New England, she
earned a masters degree from the Univ. of R. I. She taught third grade until retirement and was begged
not to retire by the mothers of children entering her grade.
Women of her generation were expected to have all of the usual homemaking skills, and Shirley excelled
at them all. She sewed dresses and dancing school costumes for her daughters, made fabulous cakes
and cookies, and was also an excellent pianist. She was outgoing and energetic, drawing new friends to
her wherever she was. She created a junior choir in her church with forty children, many of them from
the community outside the church.
After retiring from teaching at Gales Ferry School in Ledyard, Conn., they moved to Wakefield, R. I.,
where they lived on Indian Lake until she lost her husband in 2008. The following year she moved to
Riverwoods in Exeter, N.H., to be nearer to her daughters. Shirley was very active in the Riverwoods
community, serving on several different committees and singing in the chorus. In 2014 she met a new
love, Richard Bunnell. They were close companions for 10 years.
Shirley lost her daughter Christine to cancer in 2017. She is survived by two daughters, Cheryl Kramer
Perdue of Christiansburg, Virginia, and Claudia Kramer Bissett of Mirror Lake, N.H. She is also survived
by grandchildren Jason and Laura Owens, and Ethan and Kyle Bissett. She was blessed with a great-
granddaughter Adeline Owens and two great-grandsons Ellis Owens and Zachary Bissett.
Services will be held at Riverwoods, 7 Riverwoods Drive, Exeter, in the Great Bay Room, on Saturday, October 26, 2024 at 11:00 AM
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Shirley's favorite charity, Guiding Eyes for the Blind
(www.guidingeyes.org), or the Alzheimer's Association (www.alz.org).
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