Celebrating the Life of
Owen Kramer
June 28, 2018 — June 18, 2019
Obituary
Durham: Owen Andrew Kramer passed away peacefully in his parents’ arms on Tuesday, June 18, 2019 at Transitions Hospice in Raleigh. He was born in Durham to Andrew and Jennifer Kramer. He is also survived by his little sister, Elise “Ellie” Claire Kramer (born in 2022); grandparents, Jim & Teresa Burch, Allen Kramer, Wendy Fellowes; great-grandparents, Bonnie Fletcher, Ruth Burch, Jill Fellowes and uncles, Jimmy Burch, Blake Kramer.
Owen was diagnosed with a rare Mitochondrial disease, Leigh’s disease, at 4 months of age and spent his entire life fighting a hard fought battle against this incurable disease. Owen means “young warrior” and that he proved to be. He spent most of his life receiving exceptional inpatient care at Duke University Hospital and his parents would like to thank Drs. Pizoli and the Neurology team, Koeberl and the Genetics team, Mavis and the Hepatology team, Rice and the Surgery team, the Complex Care and Special Infant Care teams, the 5300, PICU, 5100 and ED unit nursing staff, the Respiratory Therapists, Child Life Therapists, and the Transitions Kids Hospice team for their loving care, guidance, advocacy and treatment during Owen’s countless hospitalizations. His parents would also like to thank Bayada Pediatrics and Owen’s Private Duty Nurses, as well as his home Physical and Occupational therapists for their loving care during the invaluable time at home with his family. His parents would also like to thank “Owen’s army” of friends, family and coworkers who have supported them throughout Owen’s journey and beyond.
Memories and Condolences
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Introducing the Ellis Crossing Little Free Library! Dedicated in Loving Memory of Owen, by his friends & family. Hi Neighbors, We have donated a Little Free Library to the neighborhood (& all of you!) in memory of our son, Owen, who passed away at 11 months old in 2019. Today is his 5th birthday, and to honor what should have been our excitement and anticipation preparing him for kindergarten this summer, we decided to dedicate a Little Library to our beloved neighborhood/community in his memory. The LFL is located at the Clubhouse will be frequently stocked/maintained with adult and children’s books - there should be something for everyone! I’ve posted the website below for more information. The idea is to “Take A Book • Share A Book”, the mission is to “be a catalyst for building community, inspiring readers, and expanding book access for all” and the vision is “a Little Free Library in every community and a book for every reader. We believe all people are empowered when the opportunity to discover a personally relevant book to read is not limited by time, space, or privilege.” We hope you all will enjoy utilizing this Little Library in Owen’s memory. We will be having a small little family dedication “ceremony” at the site of the Library this evening where we will stock it with the first round of donated books that we have received from our family/friends. We’ll keep an eye on it regularly and will add more books as space allows. Please feel free to do the same! https://littlefreelibrary.org/about/ You can read a little bit more about Owen here: https://app.bluebutterfly.com/memorial/v2/owen-kramer You can read more about Mitochondrial Disease here: https://www.umdf.org/what-is-mitochondrial-disease-2/ Please let us know if you have any questions, suggestions or book donations 🙂
• Sunday, June 25th // 12pm-5pm • Ellis Crossing Clubhouse 2115 Watchorn Street Durham, 27703 Below is the sign-up link & Drive information for Owen’s Annual Memorial Blood Drive. As in previous years, a $20 donation will be made by The Blood Connection to The United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation (UMDF) for every successful blood donation! This year they’re sweetening the deal due to the critical need for blood, and in addition to the UMDF charitable donation, each donor will also receive $40 in rewards! Please consider marking your calendar and signing up to join us on Sunday, June 25th in memory of Owen, who would be turning 5 years old on June 28th💚 Sign up for an appointment at this link: https://donate.thebloodconnection.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/212560 or by scanning the QR code in the flyer below. *if you scan the code, please advance the search end date to 6/25/23 and use sponsor code 6175. If you are unable to donate blood, please do a random act of kindness in his memory on this day. Please share this post and blood drive with your friends! From our family to yours - thank you to our village for all of the ways you continue to love and remember our sweet boy, and for celebrating his 5th birthday with us.
Welcome to Owen’s Memorial Page. On this page you will find more information about sweet Owen, his precious life, and education about Mitochondrial Disease. We hope you will join us in talking about Owen, sharing your favorite memories of him, raising awareness for Mitochondrial Disease, donating blood during his Annual Memorial Blood Drive and contributing to the establishment and maintenance of our first Little Library all in his memory. If you’re new here, thank you for joining us! If you’ve been part of this journey with us since the beginning, thank you for sticking around and continuing to show up for us - even after all this time 💚 We are so grateful!
How to Help
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