BATH — Betty Kraemer, 85, died Dec. 14, with her family by her side, after a struggle with cancer at Mid Coast Senior Health Center in Brunswick.

The youngest of nine siblings, she was born Feb. 9, 1928, in Bath, to Harold and Mattie Swain.

Kraemer enjoyed playing music and singing with her family. She won an amateur music competition at the age of 8. She and her brothers also formed a band and played at functions and family gatherings throughout their lives.

On Nov. 19, 1965, in Charleston, S.C., she married Kenneth Kraemer, a sailor in the U.S. Navy whom she met while he was stationed in Bath. The couple traveled and lived throughout the United States. They moved to Las Vegas in 1976, but Kraemer returned to Bath in 1988 with her daughter and grandchildren following the death of her husband.

She played Bingo every Thursday at the Senior Citizens Center in Bath, and even enjoyed an occasional win, but she was happiest spending time with her daughter, Betty, and her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Kraemer was predeceased by her sister, Velma, and brothers, Trafton, Harold, Howard, Newell, Chester, Allan and Gerald.

She is survived by her daughter, Betty Swain Cavallaro, of Bath; grandchildren, Michael McNeil, of Boston, Mass., and Kelly Cavallaro, of Bath; five great-grandchildren, Alana, Maryssa, Noah, Sasha and Mia; and many nieces and nephews.

Visiting hours were held Dec. 20 at the David E. Desmond & Son Funeral Home, Bath. Burial will take place in the spring at Oak Grove Cemetery, Bath.

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