Larry Niels Cramer

Larry Niels Cramer, 68, a 6-year resident of Middleton, TN passed away Thursday, March 14, at the Magnolia Regional Health Center in Corinth, MS. Larry was born December 11, 1944, in Terre Haute, Indiana, to Lawrence R. Cramer and Rigmor Christoffersen Cramer. After high school graduation he went directly into the military, serving from 1963-1971. During much of his three tours in Vietnam, his assignment was Forward Air Control, where he was known as "Mac the FAC." He achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant.



He served as a police officer for 32 years with the Tucson Police Department, the Pima County Arizona Sheriff's Department, and the Arizona Attorney General's Office. Many of those years were spent as a narcotics officer, and he was instrumental in the development of civil forfeiture as a way of combating narcotics trafficking. At the end of his career he investigated financial abuse of vulnerable adults.



He earned a B.A. in Public Administration from the University of Arizona.



Larry is survived by his wife Martha, of Middleton, Tennessee; brother Gary Cramer and his wife, Peg, of Portland, Oregon; daughter Lorie (Cramer) Kempen and her husband, Danny, of San Antonio, Texas; son Michael Cramer and his wife, Victoria, of Mesa, Arizona; and two granddaughters, Kylie Patterson and Kaitlyn Kempen.



Larry loved his family, was an avid skydiver for years, collected antiques, and built several hot rods. He knew the movie "American Graffiti" was all about him. After retirement, he and his wife chose to live in beautiful Hardeman County, Tennessee, where he enjoyed the serenity of lake living.