Rozella Lou Kramer

Rozella L. Kramer, 87, formerly of Blue Grass; passed away on Thursday, September 2, 2021 with a large portion of her loving family by her side. Visitation will be on Thursday, September 9, 2021 from 5-8pm at Weerts Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held on Friday, September 10, 2021 at 11am at the Blue Grass Presbyterian Church, with a visitation starting at 10am. Private family burial will be at Strawberry Point Cemetery. Memorials in Rozella’s memory may be made to the Blue Grass Presbyterian Church.

Rozella was born on October 4, 1933 to Willie and Birdie Cathman on the family farm near Bagley, WI. It’s interesting to note the farm was less than 5 miles from the Mississippi River and so is Blue Grass. Rozella was the seventh of ten children. Growing up, she was called “Rosie” by her brothers. She attended the Key School which was located on a portion of the farm at the bottom of the hill below the house. It must have been good exercise to go to school via the hill road as taking the short cut straight down the hill is only for the brave. It was a March 31st when she, a girlfriend and one of her brothers drove to Prairie du Chien to attend a dance. Anyone who was alive back then will tell you that dances were a big thing back in the day. It was there at the Checkerboard that she met a young man named Russell who asked her to dance. She must of really liked him as she didn’t go home with her brother and her girlfriend but instead Russell drove her home in his Studebaker. It was after midnight when she finally got home from the dance. Rozella liked to say that she did an April Fool to Russell, but he apparently wasn’t upset as he soon began making more trips up the hill to the Cathman farm.

Rozella was united in marriage to Russell Kramer on March 5, 1958 in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. The night before the wedding there was a snowstorm that dropped up to 5 inches of snow. Needless to say, some of the people that were planning on attending didn’t make it. The new couple lived in various locations in North East Iowa and South West Wisconsin for the first part of their marriage. Russell came to Davenport looking for work and when he had gotten his probation period in, he moved the rest of the now growing family to Blue Grass. That was in 1963. Over the next years the family lived in 3 different homes, but they never left Blue Grass. Rozella was a homemaker, and enjoyed delivering the local newspaper to the neighborhood and conversing with people along the route for many years. She was a long time member of the Blue Grass Presbyterian Church and the Lioness Club. Rozella loved to spend time outside in her garden and every summer she could be found canning and freezing various fruits and vegetables. She also loved to spend time in the kitchen cooking and baking for her family and trying new recipes that she had collected. She also liked to listen to the radio and call in when they would give away prizes. She became a regular winner, and the DJs began to recognize her voice when they said "you are the lucky caller". Her biggest prize was winning an all-expense trip to the 41st Annual Grammy Awards in 1999 for 2 people. Russell and Rozella had a great time with a plane flight to LA and lots of limo rides. At the after awards event, they got to meet numerous entertainers including the Dixie Chicks and Michael Bolton. Anyone who met Rozella always commented about her beautiful smile.

Those left to carry on her memory are her loving husband of 63 years, Russell; their five children, Kevin Kramer, Kathy (Tim) Marquis, Birdie (Steve) Gehring, Charlotte (John) Richard, and Lucy (Jeff) Kramer; beloved grandchildren: Nikki, Bryan, Michelle, Becca, David, Joseph, Megan, Jessica, Shayla, Justin, Jenny, and Kyle; 13 wonderful great-grandchildren: Gilbert, Russell, Calvin, Philip, Heidi, Andersyn, Emersyn, Aliyah, Zelie, Levi, Jaden, Jerimiah and Jenna; and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents and nine siblings.

The family would like to thank Compassus for their outstanding care they provided Rozella and the special attention in helping celebrate their anniversary and sending the weekly cards that she loved to receive. The family also thanks Laura and all the staff at Bickford of Davenport. You have bent over backwards to help us feel at home and allow Russell and Rozella to continue their love story. We sure appreciate it, thank you ever so much.