Richard Lee “Dick” Kramer age 87, died in Amarillo on April 18, 2022.
His family will host a visitation and viewing at the Garnand Funeral Home in Hugoton, Kansas between 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM on Saturday, April 30th. This will be followed by a graveside service and burial at the Hugoton Cemetery beginning at 2:00 PM.
Dick was born on June 20, 1934 in Hugoton, Kansas to his parents August Elvin “Gus” and Olive Morgan Kramer. Both of his parents were prominent in the community, Gus as a lawyer and business leader, and Olive as a school teach and administrator. He was educated in the Hugoton Public Schools where he was an outstanding student who demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities from an early age. He was quarterback of the high school football team, captain of the basketball team, and a track and field athlete capable of winning in competitions at the State level. He married his high school sweetheart and the love of his life, Wanda Anderson, on March 30, 1952.
Both Dick and Wanda attended Kansas University (KU), where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in business administration and Wanda began work on her degree in education (later completed at Colorado University). Dick sat for and passed the CPA exam in 1956 and then immediately pursued an MBA at Harvard Business School, graduating in 1958. During these years, the couple were blessed with the birth of two sons, Cliff in 1952 and Kirk in 1955. Upon graduation from Harvard, Dick joined the Arthur Andersen (AA & Co.) office in Denver, Colorado. Beginning in 1965, his career with AA & Co. took an international turn, beginning with a consulting project in Kuwait, followed by assignment in 1967 to the Buenos Aires office of AA & Co., where he achieved partner level and was promoted to be the head of that office. Following this, he was head of the Brussels office from 1974 to 1978, and then moved to Lagos, Nigeria where he developed a new office and practice from the ground up and served as head of the West African practice until his retirement in 1994.
Dick’s retirement from Arthur Andersen was only the start of the next phase of his life. He was a member of a team of partners who founded and grew African Capital Alliance (ACA) into one of the most prominent private equity capital partnerships in Africa. He achieved recognition as one of the foremost business leaders in Nigeria, as in particular evidenced by his development and sponsorship, for many years, of the annual Nigerian Economic Summit conference. His passing will be seen as a notable event and milestone in the Nigerian business community.
As was always the case in both his business and personal life, Dick demonstrated the highest level of integrity and professionalism personally and also required it from those he worked with. However, he was also a team player and worked tirelessly to develop the capabilities of his colleagues. He would say that much of his success was the result of habits engrained by his parents and by the community that raised him. He chose to make his family proud by his devotion to doing the right things in life – things that would build up individuals, communities and countries. He believed that “you live to become, not to acquire.” He believed in focusing on one’s circle of influence; identifying what you have the ability to change and then working hard to make that change happen.
Despite all of his achievements internationally, Dick retained his strong Kramer family roots in Southwest Kansas. He was a partner and leader in the Kramer family farming operations, seed sales and agricultural land ownership businesses, and he visited Stevens County frequently over the years both for business and family reasons.
Finally, it is impossible to fully describe Dick’s accomplishments without citing his strong and loving relationship with his wife Wanda. Only a few weeks ago, they celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary together! Throughout all of this time – easily the majority of their lives – Dick and Wanda journeyed and evolved together; they were partners in every sense of the word. Their strong devotion not just to one another, but to their families, their communities and to the pursuit to do the right things shaped and strengthened their own path together in life and improved immeasurably the lives of so many others.
Dick was preceded in death by his parents; by two brothers, Donald and Ken Kramer; and by his son Kirk Kramer.
Those left to cherish his love and life are his beloved wife Wanda of Amarillo: his son Cliff Kramer and his wife Patricia of Albuquerque, New Mexico; his daughter-in-law, Kate Milligan Kramer of La Veta, Colorado; his brother Jim Kramer and wife Shirley of Prairie Village, Kansas; and his five grandchildren, John Kramer, Tom Kramer, Anne Kramer, Ernest Gallegos, and Eric Gallegos.
Condolences may be posted at www.garnandfuneralhomes.com.