Jeffrey Cramer

Jeffery Alan Cramer born September 8th 1953 and died March 31st, 2026. Within those dates he lived a lot of life! Jeff was born in Kalamazoo, MI the middle of 5 children and like most middle children, he had a talent for getting himself noticed. He was always a trickster and a trouble maker who was looking for a laugh. He loved animals and he loved children, becoming the preferred babysitter of his younger brothers so he could skip weekly church services. Always a hard worker, he tried many jobs (I asked him once what his worst job was – gas station attendant. The coolest? Pet store employee) until he ultimately found his path owning a small business. Jeff co-owned On Target Guns & Gunsmithing in Kalamazoo which quickly became a huge success. On Target became a fixture in Kalamazoo and to me, Jeff became a bit of a local celebrity with folks coming up to say hello in the grocery store. Unlike some men who experience professional success though, Jeff always put his friends and family first. If you were sick at school, it was dad who picked you up. If you needed help with your math homework, it was dad who would clear off the table and smear shaving cream on it to teach you multiplication. He lived a life well lived full of laughter and love and quite a few practical jokes. He was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia a year before his death and here too, he never lost his sense of humor. Even when he became critically ill with a severe infection, the doctors were explaining the need for a CT scan (referred to as "cat scan" in medical parlance) and he pipes up "is that the one where they put the cat on your chest to tell you what's wrong?" and the whole resuscitation team just laughed. Jeff will be remembered best by his laughter and the warmth he brought to whatever room he was in. Jeff Cramer was pre-deceased by his wife Shelley Blakeslee-Cramer and he is survived by his children Cassondra, Cody, Rebecca and Jessica, his grandchildren: Opal, Silas, Kate, Peter and Elizabeth, his siblings: Roberta, Steve, Mark and Fritz Cramer and many nieces and nephews and loving friends.