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| Founding member of Congregation Har Shalom in Potomac, Samuel Kramer, dies of covid-19 | |
| (about 13 hours later) | |
| When Marie Kramer met Samuel Kramer on a blind date in 1957, their future 62-year-long marriage was far from ensured. He was from the Bronx, and she was from Brooklyn. Her mother thought he seemed like a nice boy, but Marie offered criticism no less withering after more than half a century. | |
| “I thought he’d sounded taller on the phone,” she said. | “I thought he’d sounded taller on the phone,” she said. |
| Still, their courtship continued. Samuel Kramer would sleep in his car on the side of Belt Parkway after long days driving from home to his job with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Manhattan, then to Brooklyn to woo his bride-to-be, before heading home again. The couple married six months (less a day) after they met, and moved in 1966 to the Potomac house where they lived until April 2, when Samuel Kramer died of covid-19 at 91. He is survived by two daughters, two grandchildren, and a 6-month-old great-grandchild, and predeceased by a son. | |
| “If you ever spoke to him, and he said, ‘What’s new?’ and you said ‘nothing,’ he would say, ‘What’s not new?’ ” said his daughter, Harriet Levine. “He wouldn’t let you get away without an answer. He would draw you into conversation.” | “If you ever spoke to him, and he said, ‘What’s new?’ and you said ‘nothing,’ he would say, ‘What’s not new?’ ” said his daughter, Harriet Levine. “He wouldn’t let you get away without an answer. He would draw you into conversation.” |
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| In the Washington region, Samuel spent decades in government service, working at the Bureau of the Budget, which eventually became the Office of Management and Budget. He also worked at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, from which he retired as deputy director in 1997. | In the Washington region, Samuel spent decades in government service, working at the Bureau of the Budget, which eventually became the Office of Management and Budget. He also worked at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, from which he retired as deputy director in 1997. |
| His work at the Bureau took him to the Panama Canal, where he felt compelled to bring home a boa constrictor for his daughter Judy, who loved snakes as much as her father feared them. The snake, nicknamed “Noah the Boa,” was kept in a fish tank secured not just with a lid, but a “heavy brick,” Marie Kramer said. | His work at the Bureau took him to the Panama Canal, where he felt compelled to bring home a boa constrictor for his daughter Judy, who loved snakes as much as her father feared them. The snake, nicknamed “Noah the Boa,” was kept in a fish tank secured not just with a lid, but a “heavy brick,” Marie Kramer said. |
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| “We never took the snake out when Sam was home,” she said. | “We never took the snake out when Sam was home,” she said. |
| Those we have lost to the coronavirus in Virginia, Maryland and D.C. | Those we have lost to the coronavirus in Virginia, Maryland and D.C. |
| Samuel Kramer was also a founding member of Congregation Har Shalom in Potomac, serving as its president from 1968 to 1971. He helped find the land for the synagogue’s first building and oversaw its construction. He continued to work with the synagogue as it expanded to include an award-winning addition with a glass-doored ark that holds the Torah and, according to his wife, looks like the Red Sea parting. | Samuel Kramer was also a founding member of Congregation Har Shalom in Potomac, serving as its president from 1968 to 1971. He helped find the land for the synagogue’s first building and oversaw its construction. He continued to work with the synagogue as it expanded to include an award-winning addition with a glass-doored ark that holds the Torah and, according to his wife, looks like the Red Sea parting. |
| Unfortunately, Samuel was not able to return to the shul for his final farewell. After a stroke five years ago, his health deteriorated, and he required round-the-clock nursing care. He developed a fever and other coronavirus symptoms in March before testing positive, and he died in the hospital on the morning he was scheduled to be discharged. | |
| The family sat shiva via Zoom, and there were just six people at the graveside service. After burying her husband, Marie Kramer, who has overcome what she believes was a mild case of the coronavirus, drove home alone. | |
| “It’s very lonely, you know?” she said. “One doesn’t go anyplace. No one can come here. I guess in theory, I’m probably safe to visit. I wouldn’t ask anyone to do that. It’s just a very lonely life. But this, too, shall pass.” | “It’s very lonely, you know?” she said. “One doesn’t go anyplace. No one can come here. I guess in theory, I’m probably safe to visit. I wouldn’t ask anyone to do that. It’s just a very lonely life. But this, too, shall pass.” |