Richard “Rick” Lee Cramer Jr., of Ojai, CA, 43 years young, passed away unexpectedly on March 15th, 2019.
Born on June 8th, 1975 in Santa Barbara, CA, he was a first born son and grew to raise a raucous with his four little brothers until he graduated from San Marcos High School with the Class of 1994. He went on to serve in the U.S. Navy where he excelled in his class in the Nuclear Field Program. During his diverse professional career he developed a deep understanding of Information Technology and was currently employed and loved his work at the University of California – Santa Barbara, as the Director of IT for the Geography Department.
Rick was an amazing husband with a wide easy smile and sparkling blue eyes. He was a best friend, a big brother, and a loyal coworker. He was everybody’s biggest cheerleader and a supporter of the underdog. He was a fan of action adventure and sci-fi, and would be sure to tell you about his strong belief that ‘Die Hard’ is the best Christmas movie ever made. Rick was a dedicated football fan with a healthy obsession with the Green Bay Packers…living the truth that there is no off season. He followed MotoGP closely and collected every motorcycle movie ever made. He was a lover of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, and would never turn down an offer of the blue box mac-n-cheese.
Rick was more than a motorcycle enthusiast. It was his passion. His brothers all teased that talking to him was like hearing ‘Motorcycle, motorcycle, motorcycle!’ He was a lifelong motorcyclist, even his first vehicle was a motorcycle. Rick was a naturally talented rider who raced and held expert and pro licenses in the various organizations throughout California (AFM, SMRRC, WSMC, AMA, etc.). He had a tremendous love for the motorcycling community and rode both on the road, and on closed course tracks on both asphalt and dirt. Rick was a stickler for wearing protective gear and always put safety first, preaching it to everyone that would listen and encouraging all motorists to take motorcycle safety courses…even making a sweet deal with his wife that she needed to get her motorcycle license by completing the safety school before they could get married.
He is survived by his loving wife Kristine (Rathsack) Cramer, of Ojai, CA, who he made laugh every single day for over 13 years, without fail; his proud parents, mom Debi Bartlett and step-dad, Steve Bartlett of Battle Ground, WA; his father Rick Cramer Sr. and step-mother, Nancy Cramer of Big Bear Lake, CA; his brother Robb Cramer of Fresno, CA; his brother Randy Cramer and sister-in-law Dre Cramer of Federal Way, WA; his brother Russ Cramer of Vancouver, WA; his brother Ryan Cramer of Menlo Park, CA; his step-sister Cheryl Brown and her husband Rob Brown of Goleta, CA; his step-brother Keith Bartlett and his partner Alex Martinez of Lompoc, CA; his dad-in-law, Jerry Rathsack and mom-in-law, Therese Rathsack of St.Nazianz, WI; brother-in-law Alex Rathsack and his wife Jennifer Rathsack of Valders, WI; his brother-in-law Pete Rathsack and his wife Heather Rathsack of Manitowoc, WI.
He was funny uncle Ricky to nephews and nieces Brandon and Madison Cramer of Federal Way, WA; Phoenix, Ryder, and Silas Cramer of Menlo Park, CA; Drake Rathsack of Manitowoc, WI; and Jase Rathsack of Valders, WI. He was awesome god-father to Marvin, Norman, and Lula Lukitsch of West Allis, WI.
All the lives that this man has touched with his sense of humor, joy for life, positive spirit, and non judgement ‘you do you’ attitude will serve as our inspiration going forward. We promise to live the rest of our days more as Rick did…with passion, laughter, generosity and fun. Our lives will forever be better because of having known the goodness of who he was.
In lieu of a formal memorial service, small individual celebrations of his life have been happening among family, friends and coworkers. We ask that you continue spreading that love and celebrate him in your own special way, it’s what Rick would have wanted. Have a gathering of friends and tell stories like he loved to do. Surprise someone by doing something unexpected and generous like he did all the time. Ride your motorcycle, think of him, and grin ear to ear like he did every day. Make someone laugh, plant an extra big kiss on your husband or wife, throw caution to the wind and get a tattoo, lessen your judgments, don’t stay mad or stress the little things in life.
If you feel like you’d like to make a difference to a cause close to his heart and that he contributed to himself, you can make a donation to causes and legislature that supports motorcyclists rights and safety measures…such as contributing to the AMA (American Motorcyclists Association) or the MRF (Motorcycle Riders Foundation).
Ride on #219, ride on…we will love you always!!
Arrangements entrusted to Welch-Ryce-Haider Funeral Chapels.
