Brenda Christine "Chrissy" Kramer

Brenda Christine Kramer “Chrissy” passed away peacefully at 63 years of age on Tuesday, 10 December 2024, and entered into the Lord's rest with her family at her side. Chrissy was born on 3 October 1961 in Elkton (MD) to Clarence "C.A." Miller and Vera Miller (nee Edwards). She was the youngest of three daughters, including sisters Donna and Susan. 

Chrissy was a beautiful person--she was full of charisma and charm, possessed a vivacious personality, and had limitless energy. She was a dedicated wife, mother, daughter, aunt, and friend and a faithful believer in her Heavenly Father and the saving grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Chrissy grew up in a rural setting in northern Maryland and in the western tip of Virginia/eastern tip of Tennessee; she was a lover of bluegrass music from a very early age and had an angelic voice--often accompanying her father (who played the standup doghouse bass) and his band singing in bluegrass festivals in Galax (VA) with her sister Susan.

Chrissy married Russell Earl Kramer on 14 August 1999; together they raised their blended family consisting of 8 children--six (6) daughters and two (2) sons--Tabitha Ross (41, husband Chad Kremmer), Tamia Kramer (41, husband Phillip Wheeler), Fallon Kramer (39), Ashley Ross (38, husband Matt Griffin), Delaina Ross (37, husband Eric Gaudin), Benjamin Kramer (35), Olivia Kramer (33, husband Jesse Nicholas), & Meason Kramer (31). Chrissy was preceded in death by both of her parents.

In her lifetime, Chrissy worked in a variety of contexts: nursing, business administration, church office manager, legal practice manager, defense contractor, and of course--full-time mother. She was dedicated to her family and to providing a stable and loving home environment. Chrissy loved to sing, and often sang her favorite bluegrass songs to her children. Chrissy was also a movie aficionado and loved quoting her favorite movies with her children--to include "Sailor Beware", "Young Frankenstein", "The Princess Bride", "My Cousin Vinnie" and "Beetlejuice". She was very quick-witted and would regularly respond with a "zinger" that would cause everyone to roar with laughter at her humor. Chrissy had an extremely generous heart and welcomed a diverse array of individuals into her life, heart, and home. Chrissy befriended international students from Pakistan (Jafri, Numair, Bunda, & Mahmoud) in her college years, and maintained a lifelong friendship with them; this led to many more eclectic friendships with individuals from all walks of life, promoting an open-minded, accepting atmosphere in the home and a keen appreciation for diversity of thought, belief, and experience. While working as the office manager of a local church, Chrissy befriended one of her employees (Maria) and that led to a 25-year friendship that enabled Chrissy to act as a surrogate mother to a half dozen kids (Rene, Raquel, Oscar, Gabriel, Angel, & Thalia) who regularly got to spend the weekend with Chrissy and Papa Russ, greatly blessing everyone's life. The friendship with the foursome from Pakistan led indirectly another singularly distinctive bond with an Indian family--that of Farrukh Azim, his lovely wife Huma, and their three sons, Basil, Saif, and Ali, and their entire extended family--all of whom treated Brenda (Chrissy) as a "sister" or "auntie". In her tenure working as a defense contractor, she was immersed in an international program and befriended literally every non-US ExPat in town--to include UK, Dutch, and Australian nationals who could regularly be found at parties and gatherings at the Kramer home. These relationships exemplified Chrissy's loving, open, generous heart and was an indicator of her innate capacity to demonstrate the pure love of Christ to all of those with whom she interacted; because of her engagement with these groups she greatly enriched the lives of her family and all involved.

Chrissy is survived by her loving husband, Russell, her eight children, four grandchildren, and two sisters, and many dear, life-long friends. Chrissy's funeral services will be conducted on Wednesday, 22 Jan 2024: at 1100, her remains will be inurned at the DFW National Cemetery (2000 Mountain Creek Pkwy, Dallas, TX 75211); afterwards, a Celebration of Life service will be held at 1430 at Marty Leonard Community Chapel (3131 Sanguinet St, Fort Worth, TX 76107). In lieu of flowers, please contribute on her behalf to one of Chrissy's favorite organizations--Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (https://www.orangutan.or.id); she was passionate about helping Orangutan orphans, too!