Patricia Kramer (born Patricia Jean Hinkley) passed away peacefully at her home in Sherburne on June 9, 2024, with her family by her side.
An Upstate NY native, Pat was born in Oneida. NY. in 1946 to Eva and Howard Hinkley. She and her brother, Chuck, were raised by her mother and loving extended family of uncles and aunts. After high school, Pat attended Elmira College and Syracuse University where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree and then went on to complete a Master’s Degree in early childhood education at Case Western Reserve University. Pat quickly leveraged her education to do what she always did best, support those in need. One of her fondest professional memories was her time spent working with disabled youth at the Bancroft School in Maine and through the Head Start Program.
Pat was married in 1975 to Jeffrey Kramer when they were introduced by mutual friends while he was in the National Health Service Corps stationed in Norwich. They went together to California for Jeff’s ophthalmology residency at Stanford where their first daughter Sasha was born. From there they moved to Germany where Jeff was stationed with the US Army Medical Corps where they had their younger daughter Tara. Pat and Jeff spent nearly 50 years supporting one another’s dreams and honing that precious balance of individual aspiration and true partnership.
A warm introvert at heart, Pat had a special gift for developing deep and abiding connections with those she loved and she nurtured a beautiful network of friends and family. A committed mother, Pat not only raised her own daughters but became an unofficial adopted mother to many, walking with her family and chosen family through the joys and sadnesses of life as they raised their own children and grandchildren. Her love and wisdom will be felt for generations, and she will be dearly missed by all who were lucky to know her. Pat also had a special gift for ushering people across the life-death boundary and was a comforting presence at the bedside of many friends and family members who passed before her. Her experience and thoughtful planning were a consolation to her own family during her illness and peaceful passing.
Pat is predeceased by her mother Eva Hinkley, her father Howard Hinckley and her brother Charles Hinckley and many of members of her extended family who raised her to be the remarkable woman she was.
She is survived by her husband Jeff Kramer, her daughters Sasha and Tara, her granddaughters Shamali and Ari, her grandson Biko, her niece and nephew Bree and Dorne and her great-nephews, her dear cousin Wendy who was like a sister to her, her brother-in-law Barry, her aunt Hilda and her incredible chosen family who will always carry her in their hearts as they walk through this world, remembering the sharp wit, kindness and wisdom that was her gift to all of us.
Those of you who knew Pat, knew her deep commitment to social issues. She supported both of her daughters in their careers working with non-profits in Haiti and around the US. Her daughter Sasha founded an organization in Haiti called SOIL which has worked for the past 20 years on increasing access to the basic human right of sanitation. Pat served as a volunteer for the organization since its inception and her support was invaluable. Her daughter Tara has worked across the US as a psychiatric nurse practitioner committed to serving vulnerable communities, from the unhoused to those struggling with psychiatric illness. In lieu of flowers or cards please consider donating to either SOIL (www.oursoil.org) or the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless (coloradocoalition.org).