Doris M. Kramer, nee Schaul, was a 50+ year resident of Wilmette. Doris and her late husband Francis were both children of European immigrant families who owned and operated separate greenhouses in Evanston. Their families were part of the Evanston Luxembourg community that built St. Nicholas church and school. When she was 14, her mother passed away suddenly, and Doris took over the household duties for a family of seven and worked in the Schaul family greenhouse. As a teenager, Doris would gather up any broken flowers that couldn’t be sold and ride her bike to sell the posies door-to-door to the housewives in the Michigan Ave. apartments for their supper tables. This was her high school spending money. Frequently on the weekends, Doris would board the train in Evanston with her accordion and travel to her favorite Aunt Margaret’s farm in Port Washington, WI where she would visit and accompany her Aunt Marg on the piano while they sang songs. After graduating high school, Doris held various jobs, including in the lingerie dept. at Wiebolts. She married Francis Kramer in 1950 and was blessed with 4 children. An excellent seamstress, Doris made clothes for herself and her children, including first communion dresses for her 3 girls, and suit for her son. Doris lived her entire life in Evanston and was active in the St. Nicholas community and the Girl Scouts until the family moved to Wilmette in 1968. There, Doris became active in the Women’s Club, book and study clubs, and the St. Francis Xavier community, in addition to bookkeeping for her husband’s small business, Evanston Landscaping. On Sept. 11, 2001, while the world was mourning the terrorist attacks, Doris was moving to the Mather Place of Wilmette where she remained until 2020. Doris left this world to be with her husband, Aunt Marg, and other family members on May 28, 2020. She is survived by her brother Frank Schaul, and loving children, Susan Kramer, Peter (Sandra) Kramer, Barbara (Scott) McKye, and Kathryn Kramer Mills, and her adoring grandchildren Coby McKye and Joshua Mills. The family would like to acknowledge Mercedes Bibat, and especially Linda Paderna, for providing gentle, kind, loving, and compassionate care for over 7 years. Doris will be greatly missed. Private Mass will be June 12 at St. Joseph Church in Wilmette with interment at Memorial Park in Skokie. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the National Heart Association or Feed America.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18