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By MARTY CLEARWilliam Kramer: 1941-2005. William Kramer knew a little about this, a little about that. He also believed in working for his community, his son said.
APOLLO BEACH - William Kramer was "a Renaissance redneck."
"He knew about wine, he knew about business, he knew about boats, he knew how to build a house, he knew a little about everything," said his son, Rich Kramer.
"He really believed in working for the community. But he was a crusty, plain-spoken guy. He had a master's degree from college, but he had his doctorate in common sense."
Mr. Kramer, a longtime Apollo Beach resident, business owner and a leader in the local sailing community, died Thursday (July 7, 2005) of complications from pneumonia. He was 64.
Generations of local young people knew Mr. Kramer through his work with Sea Scouts, a nautical equivalent of the Boy Scouts. Mr. Kramer was a scoutmaster with the Boy Scouts for many years and then became a skipper with the Sea Scouts when he moved to Apollo Beach in 1981.
He organized and hosted the Tampa Bay Sea Scout Regatta, which brought dozens of young sailors to the area every spring. He hosted his 17th annual regatta in March just before his health started to fail.
He was the quintessential self-made man. He was born into a modest family in Baltimore. His mother died when he was about 4 and his father, unable to raise and provide for the family, left Mr. Kramer and his brother in an orphanage for four or five years.
His father remarried and took custody of his sons. The family lived in several cities along the East Coast of the United States and Canada. Mr. Kramer attended a military high school in Georgia and spent a short time in the Air Force before earning a degree in industrial education from the University of Maryland.
He worked mostly for chemical companies designing and running training programs. He came here 24 years ago to work for IMC. He later started his own company, Professional Training Associates, which performed the same kind of work for several companies.
Besides running his business, Mr. Kramer found time to earn a master's degree in adult education from the University of South Florida, to work with Scouts and serve the community through the Knights of Columbus and through a program for migrant workers run by St. Ann Catholic Church.
"He believed very much in giving back to the community," Rich Kramer said. "When he got laid off from IMC, my mother asked him, "What do you want to do about the church donation?' He said, "Double it.' "
But he also found time to indulge his passion in fly fishing.
"My father lived on the water his entire life," his son said. "He loved the water. Every day he was out on the flats fishing for redfish."
Rich Kramer followed in his father's footsteps and joined the Air Force. He was serving in Afghanistan when he heard his father was dying. It took him 21/2 days to get here from halfway around the world. He arrived three hours too late to say his final goodbyes.
"I had never seen his business card," Rich Kramer said. "I finally saw it the other day. It said, "Focusing on the strength of people.' And that's the way he was. He was all about living the big life, doing everything you possibly can."
Mr. Kramer is survived by his wife, Mitzie, his sons Rich and Billy, his daughter Dawn Wells and four grandchildren. Funeral services were held July 12 at St. Ann Catholic Church.