Stephen Wayne Cramer

On February 3, 2019, Stephen Wayne Cramer lost his 8 year battle with cancer at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital surrounded by his family.  Stephen was born in Glendale, Ca to Bill and Deanne Cramer on January 15, 1962.  Throughout his childhood, he enjoyed playing sports, such as baseball and football as well as being a stellar student, consistently making honor roll.  He was also Valedictorian of his senior class at San Marin High school with his longtime best friend, Larry Ghirardo. 

                Stephen always had an ambition to help and serve the people of his community. In 1986 he graduated from the police academy at the Los Guilicos Facility.  In October of 1996, he was hired by Sonoma Police Department, working his way up to Sergeant.  In June of 2005, he was hired by Cloverdale Police Department as an officer and worked his way up to Chief of Police.  He was a 3-time recipient, between both Sonoma and Cloverdale Police Departments, of “Police Officer of the Year,” an award he accepted humbly for “just doing his job.”  Throughout his police career, Stephen graduated from Empire Law School in 1996; graduated with BA in Public Administration from USF where he also received the Dean’s Medal of Excellence; graduated from 2 Master’s programs in 2013 while also fighting Cancer.  1st Masters was in May 2013 from Saint Mary’s College in Organizational Leadership.   2nd Masters was in December 2013 from USF in Leadership where he also received the Dean’s Medal of Excellence.   

                Stephen was not the average police officer.  He treated all with compassion and humility, regardless of their circumstance or background.  He took his job seriously and was extremely active in the community.  He never missed “Friday Night Live”, shaking hands with members of the Cloverdale community, letting them know the police department cared and was there to serve.  He had a soft spot for youth and made it his mission to try to steer lost youth to the correct path. 

Although his police career and serving the people of his community was important to Stephen, even more important was his family.  In 1995, he married his best friend, Tami Cramer.  Together, they raised their 7 children.  He was often found down at the baseball and football fields coaching his sons and daughters.  If it was a sport that he could not coach, you would find him in the stands, rooting his children on in their various sports.  He was their biggest cheer leader.  When there was down time on the family front, Stephen enjoyed spending time at the lake with his wife and children as well as family vacations.  He enjoyed reading, antiquing with his wife and collecting Joe Montana memorabilia.  He was an avid and faithful Golden State Warriors, SF Giants and SF 49er fan.

                Stephen leaves behind his wife, Tami Cramer; 7 children – Jordan Cramer, Coleton Cramer, Tyler Cramer, Brittany (Travis) Curran, Brittany (Antonio) Chinaglia, Dustin (Shannon) Cramer and Jessica (Eric) Padgett; 9 grandchildren – Dylan Cramer, Maggie Curran, Mara Chinaglia, Calli Cramer, Zano Chinaglia, Alyson Padgett, Jayden Padgett, Travis Padgett and Shelby Padgett; his mother, Deanne Cramer; his father Bill Cramer; father-in-law, Dale Downing; siblings – Brian (Christina) Cramer, Anne Cramer and Gerald Cramer; sister-in-law, Stella Polling and her Mother, Erin Riley Downing; niece – Courtney Cramer; nephew – Adam Cramer;  cousins  - Adam Crawford and Wade (Rachel) Crawford; and Uncle,  Jack Crawford.

                A closed-casket viewing will be held on February 14 from 12-6 pm at DUGGAN’S MISSION CHAPEL, 525 W Napa Street, Sonoma.  Funeral services will be held on February 15 at Luther Burbank Center in Santa Rosa at 1030 am with celebration of life following the service at Father Roberts Hall (Saint Francis Solano School) at 342 W Napa Street in Sonoma.  Funeral services are open to the public.

                The family would like to extend their sincere appreciation to St Joseph’s – Round Barn Cancer Center for their continued, 8-year service to the care of Stephen. Also, a big thank you to the doctors, nursing and imaging staff at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital who treated and cared for Stephen as though he was their family.  He could not have gotten better care. 

                In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Cuff Cancer Foundation at any Exchange Bank Branch, or you may mail your donation to the Cuff Cancer Foundation at 120 West MacArthur Street, Sonoma, CA 95476. This was Stephen’s project that he started and worked on in the last few months of his life.  His family has finished the process for him and will be carrying on his legacy in running the foundation with his vision in mind.

 “The specific purpose of the foundation is to fund research for cancer and to fund scholarships and financial assistance to first responders/law enforcement families affected by cancer.” – Stephen Wayne Cramer

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Stephen Wayne Cramer, please visit our floral store.