| 1 | House Resolution |
| 2 | A resolution honoring the late William C. "Bill" Cramer. |
| 3 |
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| 4 | WHEREAS, born August 4, 1922, in Denver, Colorado, William |
| 5 | C. Cramer began his lifelong devotion to the State of Florida at |
| 6 | age four when his family moved to Pinellas County, where he grew |
| 7 | up, becoming active in student government in both high school |
| 8 | and junior college before, after a stint as a Naval gunnery |
| 9 | officer during World War II, he obtained degrees from the |
| 10 | University of North Carolina and Harvard Law School, and |
| 11 | WHEREAS, Mr. Cramer served the Pinellas area as city |
| 12 | attorney and as county attorney, and in 1951 he was among the |
| 13 | delegation elected to the Florida House of Representatives that |
| 14 | distinguished Pinellas as the first county in the state to send |
| 15 | all Republicans to the House and that, as the first House |
| 16 | Republican minority leader, afforded him opportunity to become |
| 17 | instrumental in banishing one-party rule in Florida, and |
| 18 | WHEREAS, Representative Cramer, described as "perhaps the |
| 19 | brightest star on the Southern Republican horizon," was elected |
| 20 | to Congress in 1954, the first of his party from Florida since |
| 21 | Reconstruction, and rose to ranking Republican on the House |
| 22 | Public Works Committee; seized the minority leadership; became |
| 23 | vice chairman to Gerald Ford of the Republican Conference; and |
| 24 | worked relentlessly to include key areas of Florida in the |
| 25 | nation's initial 41,000-mile interstate system, and |
| 26 | WHEREAS, after leaving Congress in 1970, Congressman Cramer |
| 27 | practiced law and remained active in politics in Washington, |
| 28 | D.C., until, deciding he "wanted to spend more time back home |
| 29 | where [he] grew up," he returned to Pinellas County in 1990, |
| 30 | continuing to practice law and enjoy his many associations with |
| 31 | friends and peers in the Legislature and in Congress and with |
| 32 | former presidents Nixon, Ford, and Bush, and |
| 33 | WHEREAS, on October 18, 2003, after "an absolutely, |
| 34 | absolutely fantastic life," William C. "Bill" Cramer, family |
| 35 | man, gentleman, statesman, and pioneer in Florida's Republican |
| 36 | politics, succumbed to a heart attack while awaiting the start |
| 37 | of the World Series, NOW, THEREFORE, |
| 38 |
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| 39 | Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of |
| 40 | Florida: |
| 41 |
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| 42 | That the House of Representatives honors with utmost |
| 43 | respect and gratitude the life of William C. "Bill" Cramer and |
| 44 | extends its sincere condolences to Mrs. Sara Cramer, his wife, |
| 45 | and to his children and grandchildren. |
| 46 | BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be |
| 47 | presented to Mrs. Sara Cramer as a tangible token of the |
| 48 | sentiments expressed herein. |