Army doctor became a family practitioner

10/13/2006

ADA, Ohio - Dr. John A. Kramer, 94, a retired family doctor here and an Army veteran of World War II, died Thursday in the Richland Manor Nursing Home, Bluffton, Ohio. The cause of death was not reported.

Dr. Kramer's career as a medical doctor in Ada spanned more than a half-century. It began in 1939 and lasted until his retirement in 1990.

At the start of his career, he also taught at Ohio Northern University for three years until the outbreak of World War II.

Dr. Kramer then joined the Army and was a flight surgeon in the European Theater until 1945, when he was honorably discharged.

He then returned to Ada and became a family practitioner.

"He was a very bright, witty person, always on top of what's going on in the medical field and in the world," his granddaughter, Jill Carroll, said. "He always [kept busy] to keep his mind going."

A native of Batavia, Ohio, Dr. Kramer graduated from Miami University in 1934 and later from Ohio State University medical school.

In 1938, he married Berneice Lucille Spires. She died in 1996.

In his retirement, Dr. Kramer enjoyed crossword puzzles and watching football and baseball on television. He was a member of Ada First Presbyterian Church, VFW Post 9381, and American Legion Post 185. He also was a former member of the Ada Rotary Club.

Surviving are his son, John; two grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.

Services will be at 10 a.m. tomorrow in the Hanson-Neely Funeral Home, Ada, where visitation will be after 2 p.m. today.

The family suggests tributes to First Presbyterian Church, Ada.