Cramer, Sister Mary Carol

Sister Mary Carol Cramer RSM, 78, died Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009, at Mercy Hallmar Care Center in Cedar Rapids after a long illness. Services will be 11 a.m. Saturday at Sacred Heart Convent Chapel, by the Rev. Nick March and the Rev. Gerald Condon. Burial will be at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Cedar Rapids. Friends may call from 3 to 8 p.m. today at Sacred Heart Chapel, with a wake service at 7 p.m. Arrangements are with Stewart Baxter Funeral & Memorial Services.

Sister Mary Carol was born April 5, 1931, at Mercy Hospital in Cedar Rapids. The daughter of Paul and Viola Wake Cramer, Sister Mary Carol became acquainted with the Sisters of Mercy at Immaculate Conception School in Cedar Rapids. She fulfilled her dream as a youth of becoming a Sister of Mercy, entering the Cedar Rapids Community after high school on Aug. 15, 1949, and professed final vows on Feb. 2, 1955. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids. She began her ministry in religious life as an elementary schoolteacher, serving at St. Matthew's, Cedar Rapids; St. Benedict's, Decorah; St. Joseph's, Marion, and Our Lady of Grace in Edina, Minn. In 1964, Sister Carol was called back to Cedar Rapids to serve as house mother at St. Ann's Home for Unwed Mothers. In her work at St. Ann's, Sister Mary Carol helped young mothers learn to cook, clean house and acquire work skills until the home closed in 1969. Sister Mary Carol went back into teaching at St. Matthew's, Cedar Rapids, and St. Patrick's in Bernard, Iowa. In 1975, Sister Mary Carol had a change in ministry and served as a receptionist at Mount Mercy College. In 1993, she traveled to Kalispell, Mont., to serve in secretarial positions at Kalispell General Hospital, Green Thumb and the American Red Cross. During her time in Kalispell, Sister Mary Carol also served as cantor at St. Matthew's Church for 12 years where she felt she could help bring people closer to God with song. Sister Mary Carol remained in Kalispell until her retirement to Sacred Heart Convent in Cedar Rapids in 2005. In 2007, Sister Mary Carol became a resident of Mercy Hallmar Care Center. 

In addition to the Sisters of Mercy, Sister Mary Carol is survived by a sister, Barbara (John) Stemlar, Davenport; brothers, P. Douglas (Theresa) Cramer, Parker, Colo., William (Charlene) Cramer, Flossmoor, Ill., and Patrick Cramer, Lewisville, Texas; an aunt, Enid Wright of Cedar Rapids; and several cousins. 

She was preceded in death by her parents, and a brother, Steven Cramer.

Memorials may be sent to the Sisters of Mercy, 1125 Prairie Dr. NE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52402.