Kay Tibbetts Cramer

Kay Tibbetts Cramer, affectionately known to family and close friends as “Sugar,” passed away on March 4, 2026, at the age of 73 after a short illness.

Kay had a personality that filled every room she entered. She greeted people with a big smile, an enthusiastic wave, or a warm hug, and her laugh was unforgettable—loud, infectious, and nearly always the loudest in the room. She complimented strangers in the grocery checkout line, carried hard candies in her purse for the children at church, and always had a good joke ready to share. That was our Kay, our Sugar, our Mom, our Mimi.

Born Emma Kay Tibbetts on October 16, 1952, in Port Arthur, Texas, to Jason Alva and Myra Claire Tibbetts, immigrants from Cayman Brac in the Cayman Islands, she was her father’s sweet girl from the beginning. He gave her the lifelong nickname “Sugar,” and though her given name was Emma, she much preferred to be called Kay—her grandmother’s name—by the world beyond her family.

Kay graduated from Port Neches-Groves High School in 1971, where she enjoyed literature and history and cherished her time with friends and her boyfriend Roger. She began nursing studies at Lamar University, where she met Charlie Cramer, a teaching assistant in the Chemistry department. They married in 1973 and moved to the Chicago suburbs. She continued her studies at Elmhurst College while working part time and found a welcoming community at Downers Grove Church of Christ, where she met her lifelong friend Nancy Dunn.

In 1978 she and Charlie welcomed their daughter Caroline, followed by their son Jason in 1981. Kay devoted herself to motherhood as a stay-at-home mom, staying active in church, the Kingsley Elementary PTA, and Girl Scouts. After a difficult divorce, she returned to Texas, completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Lamar University in 1990, and built a long career in cardiovascular critical care. She worked at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago, St. Luke’s Medical Center, The Methodist Hospital in Houston, and later in the intensive care unit at Baptist Hospital in Beaumont, where she became a trusted resource for physicians and a beloved mentor to young nurses.

She earned her Master of Science in Nursing Education from Lamar in 2007 and went on to teach at Lamar State College Port Arthur and Vista College, sharing her knowledge and passion with future healthcare professionals. She joyfully embraced her role as Mimi to her grandchildren, listening patiently to their stories, bringing bedtime tales to life with dramatic voices, and loving each one with boundless enthusiasm. Her faith remained a constant source of strength as a devoted member of Memorial Church of Christ, where she filled countless binders with notes from sermons and Bible studies. She also cherished travel and history, exploring Alaska, Canada, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England, France, Italy, New Zealand, Australia, and many other places with her dear friend Nancy, creating memories she considered the highlight of her life.