Pastor Charles F. Kramer

    Pastor Charles F. Kramer

     Funeral Services for Rev. Charles F. Kramer, age 78, passed away at Ava’s Hospice House in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, surrounded by his family.

     Funeral services will begin at 7:00 p.m. Friday, March 22, 2024 at Risen Savior Lutheran in Tea, SD.  Visitation will be Friday from 5:30-7 p.m. at Risen Savior Lutheran in Tea, SD.  A funeral service will also be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, March 23, 2024 at St. John Lutheran Church in Germantown, IA.  Visitation will begin at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at St. John’s Lutheran.  

     Arrangements are under the care of the Anderson Funeral Home in Canton, South Dakota.  Local arrangements are under the care of the Eldridge Family Funeral Home in Paullina.

     The Rev. Charles F. Kramer was born on April 4, 1945, to Charles B. and Edna nee Severt in Greenwood, WI. He lived and worked on the family dairy farm. He attended the LaTart country grade school and graduated in 1959 with two other classmates. He graduated from Loyal High School in 1963. He began his studies for the ministry by attending Concordia College, St. Paul, MN from 1963-65, then two years at Concordia Senior College in Ft. Wayne, IN, graduating with a BA in 1967. He then enrolled at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and during the vicarage year, he became the vicar at Howard Lake, MN. There he met the love of his life, Janet Seibel, who was teaching the first-grade class at the St. James Lutheran School. They were married on February 21, 1970, a beautiful day in southern Minn. In the fall of 1970, they moved to St. Louis and Charles graduated in 1971 with a Masters of Divinity degree. He had asked the placement director to let him serve in the rural Midwest. So, his first call was to Scotland and Kaylor, SD, where he served from June 1971 to the fall of 1974. Their family had grown to five, Kristin Dawn, born in August 1970, Charles Paul, born in January 1972, and Kimberly Faith, born in March 1974.  In October of 1974 Charles received the call to be the pastor at St. John Lutheran Church, Germantown, IA. In December of 1976 Timothy Mark was born. Chuck and Janet always considered Germantown, Iowa their home, serving there for 21 years until 1996. In October of 1995, a call came from Pickerel, WI to serve as the pastor of St. John Lutheran Church. They bought the parsonage, with a lake in the backyard, and remodeled the house to make it their own.  Chuck continued to serve in ministry there with lakeside services in the summer and small worship services in the winters because many of the members were snowbirds in Florida and Texas.  Janet taught at Zion-St. John Lutheran School in Paullina, IA and at Peace Lutheran School in Antigo, WI until both Chuck and Janet retired in ministry on Sept. 1, 2008.  Upon retirement, they moved from northern Wisconsin to be closer to their children and grandchildren in Canton, SD. In retirement, Chuck continued to serve vacancies at Freeman, SD (2009), Centerville and Hurley (2015) and Risen Savior, Tea (2020). He also served as the circuit visitor for the Sioux Falls circuit for 6 years.  He had many hobbies, such as gardening, woodworking, traveling with Janet, fishing, hunting, and making homemade preserves, and other delicious treats.

     Charles is survived by Janet, his wife of 54 years, and their four children Kristin Goodroad (Brad), Kimberly Wentz (Russ) of Canton, Charles P. (Jennifer) and Timothy (Amanda) Kramer of Lincoln, Nebraska, also 13 grandchildren:  Morgan (Paul Martinez), Justin and Benjamin Goodroad, Jackson Kramer, Jesse, Kambree, and Reed Wentz, Felicity, Hudson, Elsie, Ethan, Noah, and Lucy Kramer.  He is further survived by one sister, Carolyn Larsen (Doug) of Willard, WI, and by brother-in-law, Wayne Winter, Watertown, WI, and many other relatives and friends.

     He was preceded in death by his parents, three sisters, and two brothers-in-law.