Julia Wood Kramer

1927-2023

Julia Wood Kramer passed away peacefully on Wednesday, April 5, 2023, two months after her 96th birthday. Julia was blessed with an active mind and body throughout her long life, and she lived independently until the end. She died after a very brief decline, surrounded with the love of her family, including all three of her children, and several grandchildren and great grandchildren.   

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Julia Dimond Wood came into this world in 1927 in Berkeley, California, one of three daughters of Jean and Henry Allyn Wood. She grew up in Berkeley with her two dear sisters, her older sister Eleanor Jean (Daggett) and her younger sister Ruth (Haynes). A lifelong athlete, as a child she discovered the joys of tennis; by the time she was a teen, she was ranked as one of the state’s top young players by the California chapter of the US Tennis Association. She continued playing well into her 80s.

Julia graduated from Anna Head School in 1944 and went on to college at the University of California at Berkeley. She graduated from Cal in 1948, with a major in General Studies and a minor in History. Although she never again lived in California, Julia was forever a Californian at heart. Following her graduation, Julia enrolled in one of the first all-women’s cohorts at the Harvard-Radcliffe Program in Business Administration. She graduated in 1949.

While in Cambridge she met Robert B. McDermott, from Evanston, Illinois, who had just enrolled in Harvard Law School. They were married in November of 1950. The couple eventually moved to Evanston, IL where Julia raised her three children: John Edward McDermott in 1953 (spouse: Lynn Tate); Jeanne Allyn McDermott in 1955 (spouse: Ted Finch); Charles Gardner McDermott in 1959 (spouse: Patricia Flaherty).

In 1975, Julia married Ferdinand (Ferd) Kramer and lived in Chicago until his passing in 2002. Shortly after Ferd’s death, Julia returned to Cambridge, closer to her adult children and their growing families who were all living in the Boston / New England area. This began a 20-year chapter during which Julia took delight in being the mother and grandmother she had always wanted to be. It was also a time when she deepened her commitment to writing.

Julia’s professional career included roles as the Personnel Director of Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston and the Director of Alumni Affairs at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. History - especially family history - was Julia’s deepest passion. Beginning in the mid 1980s, Julia began writing local and family histories. 

 Ultimately, her publications included nine books:

• Let Us Go Shouting to Glory: The Story of Ann Maria and Henry Dimond (1985)

• The Commandment of Parenthood: The Story of Simon and Libetta Kraemer (1989)

• This, Too, Is for the Best: Simon Kraemer and His Stories (New York, Bern, Frankfurt: Peter Lang - 1989)

• The House on The Hill: The Story of Simon and Amalia Abeles of Leavenworth, Kansas (1990)

• The Ever-Widening Life: The Story of Martha Foote Crow (Evanston, IL, Alpha Phi Foundation - 1997)

• Sophia’s Story (2000)

• Sam’s Story (2002)

• Family Business (2004)

• A Man of Strong Opinions (2006)

Above all Julia was a loving mother, grandmother and great grandmother, a loyal friend, faithful correspondent, and an inspiration to the many extended family members and friends who loved her dearly. Beginning in her 70s, Julia taught herself all forms of computer communication and research. She was remarkable in her skill and embrace of all these tools; they afforded her the opportunity to exchange ideas, news, and feelings with friends and family at any time of day or night, right until the very end of her life.

In addition to her three adult children, Julia is survived by her sister Ruth Haynes of San Mateo, CA. Her grandchildren include Hannah McDermott; Lucy McDermott (Peter Yeo); Jeremy Finch (Stephanie Fungsang); Nathaniel Finch (Jenna Ottow); Clare McDermott; and Amelia McDermott. She is also survived by two great grandchildren: Kai Wing-Choi Finch and June Ming-Choi Finch. She also loved - and was loved by - all of the generations of her extended family, including her nephews (Geoffrey and David Haynes; Tom and Jim Daggett) and their children. In leaving us, she asked that we embrace and honor her belief in the beauty and strength of family. 

 A memorial service will follow in the Fall of 2023, Julia’s favorite time of year.  

Julia supported Lovelane Therapeutic Riding (https://www.lovelane.org) and the Bancroft Library at the University of California (give@library.berkeley.edu)

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