Kraemer, Burdette (1918-2005)

KRAEMER, REESE, MEYER, BLACKSHEAR, GIBSON, KELLEY, CASEY, LEAVINGS, MADDEN

Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 4/13/2013 at 15:58:40

Burdette Kraemer
February 21, 1918 - March 27, 2005

Burdette R. Kraemer, 87, of Willmar, Minnesota, died on Thursday, March 27, 2005, at the Bethesda Heritage Center in Willmar, Minnesota. He was a baptized member of the Evangelical Free Church.

Burdette was born on February 21, 1918, in Elk Township, north of Alta, the son of Louis and Christine (Reese) Kraemer. He attended Fairview Consolidated School, and upon graduating, he started farming. On July 18, 1959, he married Bonnie Meyer in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Following their marriage, he continued to farm in the Alta area until retiring in 1971 and moving to Norway Lake, rural New London, Minnesota. There, he started manufacturing waterfront equipment, an enterprise he pursued for many years. In 2000, Burdette and Bonnie moved into Sunrise Village, and shortly thereafter, Burdette moved into Bethesda Heritage Center.

Burdette always possessed a love for farming and truly cared for the land he was privileged to use. He received awards for his crop yields and was honored for appearing in the 1971 Farmers of America. Very active in farmer's organizations, he became one of the fifteen founding members of the National Farmers Organization (NFO), serving as President of this organization in Buena Vista County.

After moving to Minnesota, Burdette was awarded first for Creative Achievement at the Minnesota Inventor's Congress in 1976. He loved inventing, implementing a product, and seeing it work productively. His German and Danish roots sealed him in honesty with a fierce work ethic. He did not know idleness as his hobby was to work in his shop and to tend to his garden. He found life a challenge; however, he loved every challenge, never faltering. Always eager to help anyone who asked, he was a man of kindness, wisdom, firmness, integrity, and humor.

The latter years of Burdette's life proved a difficult journey, and he felt his experience in life was no more than living out the inscrutable purpose of God. A quote by Berry Markham aptly describes Burdette: “If a man has any greatness in him, it comes to light-not in one flamboyant hour, but in the ledger of his daily life.” Burdette also truly believed that "Heaven is blessed with perfect rest, but the blessing of earth is toil."

Those surviving include his wife, Bonnie, of Willmar; his children, Charles (and Helene) Kraemer, of Pottsboro, Texas, David Kraemer, of Salina, Kansas, Betty Kraemer, of Willmar, Minnesota, and Karen (and Joe) Blackshear, of LaPorte, Texas; nine grandchildren, Gye Kraemer, Billie Gibson, Jessie Kraemer, Angela Kelley, Jennifer Casey, Amy Leavings, and Cory, Brent, and Aaron Kraemer; six great-grandchildren; his sister, Lois (and Gerald) Madden, of Yerington, Nevada, and his sister-in-law, Barbara Kraemer, of Arlington, Texas.

He was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers, and a sister.

Graveside services were held on Wednesday, April 13, 2005, at Buena Vista Memorial Gardens in Storm Lake. Arrangements were with the Harvey Anderson Funeral Home in Willmar, Minnesota.

© Copyright 2005, Storm Lake Pilot Tribune

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