Dona Patricia Kraemer Maybry

September 7, 1927 - June 10, 2020

On June 10, 2020 I, Dona Patricia Kraemer Maybry, died quietly and at peace, with my much loved family by my side as well as one of our cats stretched out against me. I am on my last adventure, returning home to join my Bill, and to meet my God and Jesus face to face. I was born in 1927, in Spokane, WA, to Clarice Mae Kamlin and Michael Matthew Kraemer. My mother once told me that Charles Lindbergh flew his Spirit of St Louis over Spokane on the day I was born and dipped his wings to welcome me to the world. I lived with my parents and older brother, Michael Jr (Mickey), in Worley, Idaho, until age 2 when, due to the depression, my banker father and my mother moved to Seattle to make a new start for us. Mickey and I lived with our grandparents, Jack and Margaret (Mominee) Cochran, in Coeur d'Alene, ID, for 2 years. Grandpa Jack worked in a sawmill and Mominee cooked for the men who boarded there. Mickey and I enjoyed running around the grounds and making friends with the lumberjacks. Dad found employment with Sears Roebuck & Co. as Manager of the Hardware Dept and Mom went to Beauty School. After we were reunited Mickey and I spent each school year in Seattle and our summers with Mominee and Grandpa Jack. In Seattle, we graduated from MacDonald Elementary, John Marshall Jr High and Theodore Roosevelt High School. At age 14, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and received baptism at the University District Baptist Church in Seattle. In 1945, I enlisted in the U.S. Student Nurse Corps, a Federal Program administered through Seattle College and Providence Hospital. However, Seattle being a Navy town, it wasn't long before I met the love of my life, William Robert Maybry, a handsome Naval Lieutenant from Memphis, TN. We knew immediately that we were meant for each other. Bill and his ship were involved in most of the heavy battles in the Pacific during WWII. The USS Fremont, APA44, carried combat personnel and Bill was in charge of the small boats that carried them to shore and back. In the meantime, my parents had retired and moved to Spokane. Bill and I decided to elope to Idaho (no waiting period) to get married and surprise everyone. However, our rental car broke down, and we had to be towed back to Seattle! Soon, Bill's leave was over and he and his ship left for another tour in the Pacific. In April 1946, his ship docked in San Francisco, Bill was detached and flew home to Memphis. He sent me an engagement ring and, by phone, we set a date, July 20, 1946, to be married. I resigned from the Student Nurse Corps and joined my parents in Spokane. My brother Mickey was serving with the Army in Europe and unable to attend our wedding; nor could Bill's father be there. However, Bill's mother, Ruth, flew with him to Spokane for the festivities and the wedding at a beautiful Lutheran Church in Spokane valley. After a honeymoon on the train to Chicago and then to Memphis, we spent a few weeks getting to know Bill's family and his friends from Southwestern College. Then it was off to Nashville where Bill studied and received his Masters Degree in Health and Physical Education from Peabody College. During that year in Nashville, our first son, Michael Robert, was born in 1947. Next came a year in Jonesboro, Ark, where Bill taught high school physical education at Arkansas State and coached the basketball team to its first championship ever. Then, Bill received a call from Dr. Charles Diehl, President of Bill's Alma Mater, Southwestern at Memphis, offering him a position in Physical Education and Coaching. We moved to Memphis and Bill eventually became Athletic Director. Since Bill and his family were lifelong Presbyterians, I joined with them at Evergreen Presbyterian as my church home, later moving our membership to Buntyn Presbyterian. We raised our family here, welcoming our second son, William David Lee, in 1950 and our daughter, Deborah Lynn in 1957. After Debbie started school, I went to work and enjoyed positions in Extension Divisions of University of Tennessee and Memphis State University, and completed my working life as Administrative Assistant to the Dean of the UT College of Medicine, retiring in December 1984. Meanwhile, Bill retired in 1980, and we joined two camping clubs. We started small with a tent , then a van camper . Next up was a trailer, then a mini motor home, and ended up with a 35 foot RV. We traveled to many states with our clubs and to many reunions with Bill's Navy buddies. One trip I especially enjoyed was RVing to Seattle for my 50th high school reunion in 1995. One year, we flew to Hawaii for a two week, four island tour. Bill had fond memories of R & R with his Navy buddies in Hawaii and he wanted to show me the islands. Later, after Bill became ill, we sold our RV, and concentrated on time with our family: Mike and his wife Susan, their daughter Jill; David and his wife, Charlotte, their daughters Joanna and Jennifer; and Debbie. Bill took great pleasure in his family and loved each and every one until his illness overcame him and stole his memories of his life. My beloved Bill died in February, 2004, after 57 years of marriage. As much as we missed him, we found joy in our memories and in knowing he is well again--probably playing golf with his buddies who preceded him -- and watching over me and is still watching over our family from his beautiful home in heaven. I have now joined him where we will spend eternity together, camping, dancing, laughing and rejoicing in our reunion. Preceding me in death are my grandparents, mother, father, and brother. I am survived by my daughter Deborah Lynn Maybry, my eldest son Michael Robert Maybry (Susan), granddaughter Jill Suzanne Maybry, my younger son David Lee Maybry (Charlotte), granddaughter Joanna Ruth Shaver (Phillip), granddaughter Jennifer Charlotte Maybry and great-granddaughter Maybry Caroline Shaver. I also leave my church family and a number of Kamlin cousins and their families in Illinois, California and Washington State. I love you all more than I can express. Please don't grieve; be happy for me as I have joined my parents & brother and, the love of my life, my dearest Bill. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, June 16 from 10:30 am until the time of the funeral service at 11:30 am at Memorial Park Funeral Home, after which I will be entombed with Bill in the Mausoleum. The funeral service will be webcasted and can be viewed by following the link below: http://webcast.funeralvue.com/events/viewer/31282 In lieu of flowers please honor me by sending any memorials to the Church Health Center, Memphis Animal Shelter or Buntyn Presbyterian Church. "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4.7 To view the tribute slideshow click here: https://www.tributeslides.com/tributes/show/YFM9DM4QS94GGB9Z