Nicholas H. Cramer

Nicholas "Nikk" Cramer

Nikk passed away at the age of 33 while residing in Madison, Wi, on May 18, 2013. Nikk was born in Appleton, WI, January 21, 1980, son of Michael and Wendy Cramer.

Nikk pursued his love of technology to Rose Hulman Institute of Technology and later chased his affinity for music to UW-Oshkosh. He was an avid musician and always had a love for technology. He toured parts of the country with various bands and had the privilege of playing at Summerfest last year. His guitar never seemed far out of his grasp (much to the chagrin of his family at two in the morning). He will be remembered for his broad smile, infectious personality, and he can forever by the many notes of music he left for the world on the Internet and on discography.

Nikk is survived by his parents, Michael and Wendy of Watertown, WI; sisters, Jess (Kyle) Rau of Gilberts, IL, and Jacque of New Holstein; nephew, Dylan Rau of Gilberts, IL; aunts, uncles, cousins, other relatives and dear friends. He was preceded in death by his paternal and maternal grandparents, Herman and Marie Cramer and Roy and Lorry McPhillips, respectively; along with aunts, uncles, cousins, other relatives and dear friends.

A celebration of Nikk's life was held at Olbrich Gardens on Friday May 24. Condolences can be sent to www.never-gone.com/memorials/nikkcramer.

Memories may also be shared at https://www.facebook.com/nikkcramer

Donations in Nikk's name can be made to the Rainbird Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the end of child abuse, P.O. Box 5482 - Madison, WI 53705, to the Fender Music Foundation, PO Box 67, Agoura Hills, CA 91376, a non-profit organization that provides musical instruments for children, or memorials can be sent to his family at 219 S. Concord Ave, Watertown, WI 53094.


Written by his beloved sister, Jessica Rau

Singer/songwriter Shawn Mullins wrote a song called "Shimmer". In this song, the lyrics say "Sharing with us what he knows--His shining eyes are big and blue--And all around him water flows--This world to him is new--This world to him is new." The song continues with "We're born to shimmer--We're born to shine--We're born to radiate--We're born to live--We're born to love--We're born to never hate." This song could have easily been written about Nikk. Nikk loved to share his thoughts. He loved to share his philosophy. And he loved to share his beautiful music. He also cared about what other people thought and felt. And he listened attentively to others' thoughts and feelings with a special kind of consideration that was a rarity. Nikk's shining blue eyes saw the world as a new place every day. He appreciated the little things. He saw beauty in what most people would pass by without a second thought. He loved nature and enjoyed hiking in places previously undiscovered to him. And he enjoyed introducing the people in his life to his love of nature. He respected all living things whether it was a human being or a blade of grass.Nikk was born to shimmer. One knew this immediately upon meeting him. He greeted every stranger as a friend. He had a presence that is indescribable. Positivity and kindness radiated from him, and it was contagious. Typically, it was difficult to be near Nikk without smiling. He made us all smile. There was so much hope in Nikk. Hope for people, hope for the world and all in it, hope for peace, and hope for everyone and everything Nikk loved poured from his widely-opened heart. There were no conditions to Nikk's love and he gave it freely to all who would accept it.Nikk challenged all of us every day to be the best human beings we could be. He did this without asking us or telling us. He did this through his actions and his genuineness. And once in his presence, we could not do anything but surrender to that challenge. Nikk's passing has left a tremendous void in all of us. It is not simply his presence that we miss. We miss who Nikk is and what he represented. We miss his music. We miss those characteristics in Nikk that made all of us want to be better people. Nikk's physical presence may be gone, but his legacy lives on in each of us he touched so deeply. As a tribute to Nikk, I challenge all of you to continue his mission to make the world a better place. No good or kind action is too small. There is no such thing as insignificant kindness. We are all sad. We are all a bit empty. But Nikk would want us to forge ahead--to change this world.

Written by Nikk's soul sister and dear friend, Vicki Burge