Maureen "Reene" Kramer

Reene is survived by her husband, William and children, Brian, Jennifer, David and Matthew.

Reene grew up in Kansas City to parents Delbert and Mary Beirne, both deceased.

She graduated from Center High School in Kansas City, MO and went on to attend St. Luke’s School of Nursing where she met Bill and together they were married in December 1974. Reene graduated Nursing school in 1975. During her graduation, she tripped on the last step going up to receive her diploma; luckily the bishop caught her! Following graduation Reene worked on a Medical Surgical Unit and later in her career enjoyed working in the Recovery Room taking care of patients after their surgeries.

In 1976, Bill joined the United States Air Force and their journey of crisscrossing the United States would begin. Reene supported Bill in the 20 years of his Air Force career. Together, along with their growing family, they would live in ten different states; they would also travel to and visit 39 states overall. She also traveled to Ireland.

During this time, Reene continued to work as a Nurse in every place they lived. While Reene was a kind and compassionate Nurse, her chosen career was looking after her family and being a Mother. She was a very loving and supportive Mother and instilled those same values in her family.

Reene always wanted to be a Mother and have four children. Brian, the oldest, was her first in this motherhood journey. He was born in 1979 in Arizona, followed by Jennifer, born in Texas two years later and David, born in Korea, two years after that. She always wanted one more child and after a gap of seven years, Matthew was born in Utah in 1991 – there must have been something in the water to assist in this miracle and making her family complete!!

Reene enjoyed the kids’ activities and being involved in their lives. She enjoyed their baseball games and volunteering in Marching Band activities. She was a great listener, calming voice and a steady hand for a very busy and active family. When her kids were younger, she would always make their school lunches and as they got older and would return home for the holidays or summer breaks she would take them grocery shopping (so they had food to go home with!). She would also take their ‘food orders’ for what they wanted her to cook while they were home. Reene always maintained the right balance between caring for her family and working as a nurse.

Reene liked to travel and enjoyed making the most of her time wherever they were stationed by the military as well as the places they lived afterwards. She enjoyed watching baseball games, going to plays and musicals, long walks and reading different books. More recently, she and Bill enjoyed taking road trips and visiting National Parks and Historical Sites. She enjoyed visiting her kids in the different cities (Cape May, NJ, Seattle, Flagstaff, Phoenix, and Houston) that they lived in now that they were adults.

Alzheimer’s ultimately changed her life and put her on a different path. Despite this disease, Reene was still a kind and compassionate person who endured the Alzheimer’s journey with grace and dignity, just as she had with everything else in her life.

She will be missed.