James Jacob Cram

James was born in St. Francis, Kansas, to mother Elizabeth and dad Ole Robert and was named in honor of his Uncle Jake, James Jacob Ringo. He grew up in St. Francis, graduating from High School in 1935. He began Kansas State Agricultural College in Manhattan KS, then worked for the State Highway Commission, but returned to K State, graduating in 1946 with a degree in Civil Engineering.

In 1940, he was among the first contingent from St. Francis drafted into the Army and clearly remembers December 7th, 1941, (Pearl Harbor Day). He enrolled in Officer Candidate School in Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, and married Josephine Firkins in St. Francis on 24 June, 1942. They enjoyed 69 years together before her death in 2011. Upon graduation he began working for Boeing but by 1947 he was employed by the Bureau of Reclamation and helped to construct Bonnie Dam in eastern Colorado. The family lived briefly in McCook and then Sargent, Nebraska, but settled for good in Lakewood, Colorado, in 1956, near the Denver Federal Center. Jim retired from the Bureau of Reclamation in 1980. He earned his pilot’s license and played golf, but his true passions were his family, his Church and his friends. He was an active member of the Jefferson County Shrine Club (President, 1986), a 50+ Year Mason and Past Master of Joppa Daylight Lodge #174 (1977), and a faithful participant in the local chapter of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees (NARFE), and the Kansas State Alumni Club. He and Jo were honorary Charter Members of Green Mountain United Methodist Church where he was Treasurer for many years.

He is survived by his three children: Jo Ann Joselyn, Jon Cram (Kathy), and Jeri Howe (Jon), four grandchildren: Jayna Hand, Jacob Cram, Cassandra Howe, and Charlotte Davidson; and seven great-grandchildren. His two younger brothers predeceased him, but he is survived by his sister-in-law, Bonnie Cram.