Ralph M. (Sonny) Cram, 81, of rural Bellevue, passed away peacefully on April 15th at his home surrounded by his family, after a brief battle with cancer. Funeral service will be held on Thursday, April 19th, at 11:00 a.m. at Lemke Funeral Homes - North Chapel (2304 North Second Street). A visitation will take place on Wednesday, April 18th, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Lemke Funeral Homes - North Chapel. Burial will take place at Oakland Cemetery Clinton, Iowa. Lemke Funeral Homes is assisting the family with arrangements.
Ralph was born on November 29th, 1930, in Clinton, Iowa, the son of Ralph H. and Genevieve (Manning) Cram. He married Madonna M.(Sis) Jensen on October 24th, 1953 at St. John's Lutheran Church, Lyons Iowa; she preceded him in death on May 15th, 2005 after 52 years of marriage.
Early in life Ralph attended several country schools and went to work at a very young age. Ralph later joined the Army achieving the rank of Corporal and was a veteran of the Korean War. In November 1956 Ralph and MaDonna moved to rural Bellevue where they farmed and he was also self-employed as a carpenter. Ralph hung up his hammer and saw in 1993, and sold his cows in 2008. He enjoyed spending time with his family and fishing in his spare time.
Surviving are his six sons - Jesse (Roxann) Cram of Bellevue, IA., Faron (Jackie) Cram of Bellevue, IA., Shane Cram of Cedar Rapids, IA., Tony (Nancy) Cram of Teeds Grove, IA., Logan (Patty) Cram of Miles, IA., Micah (Jolene) Cram of Preston, IA; Nineteen Grandchildren, 19 Great Grandchildren (with one on the way); one sister - Sally Folger of Streator, IL; two brothers- Al (Pat) Cram of Clinton, IA., Denny (JoAnn) Cram of Lindale, TX; one Aunt - Dorothy Tholen of Rockfalls, IL., sister in-law - Shirley (Dave) Mohr of Charlotte IA., and brother in-law - Marv Jensen of Andover, IA and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, four sisters - Lois, Ardelle, Marjorie and Cheryl; one brother - Steve, two grandchildren; 2 brother in-laws - Larry (Sally) Folger, Don (RoseAnn) Jensen, and one sister in-law Betty (Jim) Pray.
The family would like to thank the nurses and caregivers from hospice of Jackson County for their wonderful care.
In lieu of flowers, donations and memorials can be made to Hospice of Jackson County, 611 West Quarry Street, Maquoketa, IA or online at http://jchospice.org/donations.htm

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