Waldron Kraemer

Waldron (Wally) Kraemer, 86, died peacefully in Sarasota, Florida on October 6, 2023. He is survived by his wife, Joan Lovell, his children, Adam Kraemer (wife, Ruth Kraemer), Elise Luce Kraemer (husband, Ned Luce), stepdaughter Kristin Zellner, five grandchildren, Anna and Rachel Luce, and Benson, Edna and Naomi Kraemer, and step granddaughter, Linzy Leon. Wally is preceded in death by his wife Jean Kraemer, mother Evelyn, father Manfred Kraemer, stepfather Daniel Kasen, and sister Lynn Goldfarb.

Wally grew up in Newark and South Orange, New Jersey, and on military bases during his father’s service as an US Army Air Forces physician. He was a varsity swimmer and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Colgate University and a cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School. Maintaining a lifelong respect for the military, he valued his service in the U.S. Army reserves after law school. He then returned to Newark to practice law with his stepfather in a firm that later became known as Kraemer Burns.

Wally was highly respected as a business lawyer and contributor to the bar during the 50 plus years of his legal career. He was Chairman of the New Jersey Board of Bar Examiners, and for decades served along with four distinguished law school professors on a committee that drafts torts questions for the Multistate Bar Exam. He was President of the Essex County Bar Association, Chairman of the New Jersey Supreme Court's Ethics Finance Committee, and a member of the New Jersey Supreme Court's Disciplinary Review Board.

Wally and Jean lived in Maplewood, New Jersey and travelled extensively. Wally was an accomplished sailor and sailed the east coast from Maine to the Bahamas, the Mediterranean, and Pacific northwest. For over a decade, Wally spent time each winter on his boat in Marsh Harbor, Bahamas.

Wally was passionate about opera. He joined the Sarasota Opera Board of Directors shortly after moving to Sarasota and served as its President in 2021-23. His most recent passion was golf, which he took up at the age of 75. He enjoyed playing golf and spending time with friends at the Sara Bay Country Club.

Wally had a lifelong interest in public affairs. He read extensively and remained actively engaged in supporting good government to the end of his life. As Chairman of the Metropolitan New Jersey Chapter of the American Jewish Committee in 1976, he hosted the national director of inter-religious affairs and facilitated interracial dialogue.

Wally was a kind and generous person, mentor to many, a loving husband, devoted father, and proud grandfather. He was exceptionally positive, optimistic, and open-minded, and always saw the best in people and found joy in life. He will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him.

A funeral service for Waldron will be held Sunday, October 15, 2023 at 12:30 PM at Temple B'nai Jeshurun, 1025 South Orange Avenue, Short Hills, New Jersey 07078. Following the funeral service will be a burial at 2:00 PM at B'nai Jeshurun Cemetery, 1347 Lower Road, Hillside, New Jersey 07205.

For those who wish to donate in his honor, the family suggests the Sarasota Youth Opera, 61 N. Pineapple Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34236, or a charity of your choice.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.bernheimapterkreitzman.com for the Kraemer family.