Former downtown mainstay, George Kramer, dies at 71

Ottawa lost one of its biggest supporters Sunday.

George Kramer, 71, Ottawa, former owner of Kramer Drug, died after a battle with pulmonary fibrosis Sunday at his home.

“He was very much an Ottawa supporter. Everybody knew him as a rock solid Ottawa guy,” Tom Weigand, Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce president, said.

“I’ve known him since I was in high school. He was a great guy,” Weigand said.

“George was a very kind and compassionate man. He was a very caring man and a great pharmacist,” Gary Jordan, Ottawa, who was part of a coffee group that began meeting at Kramer Drug in the 1980s, said.

George Kramer began in the pharmacy business at the ground level — sweeping floors at the store and working at the soda fountain when he was 12.

In 1956 he took partial ownership from his parents, W.F. “Bud” and Helena Kramer, who had bought the drugstore at 134 S. Main St. in 1950. Bud Kramer retired in 1974, and George and his wife, Jacque Kramer, owned the drugstore until selling it to Gene Millbern in 2006.

Although George Kramer has moved on, a part of his legacy remains preserved at the Old Depot Museum. The Kramer Drug soda fountain became a permanent exhibit at the museum in April.

“I think when he gave it to us, he was thrilled that a part of his business was going to live on,” Deb Barker, Franklin County Historical Society director, said.

Kent Kramer, George’s son, said his father was thrilled with the soda fountain being preserved at the museum.

Barker said during the exhibit’s grand opening, dozens of former employees showed up and took pictures of themselves behind the counter.

“It was quite a testimony to what a training ground it was for the youth,” she said.

Funeral arrangements for Kramer will be announced by Lamb-Roberts Funeral Home.