I just found out today that one of my favorite professors, Dr. Timothy Kramer, at school was killed accidently over the weekend in a plane crash. He was flying one of his planes into Maryland with his girlfriend. He was about to land before his plane hit some treetops that ultimately brought the plane down. I was and still am shocked that he is not here anymore.

Greater was the Person than the Teacher

The first time I met Dr. Kramer he didn’t talk about class he wanted to know who I was. We talked about careers, going to grad school, automobiles, airplanes, and his college days. He told some of the same stories over and over, but it didn’t matter they were entertaining and you can see that that was one of his best moments in his life. He also loved mechanical toys and the sure enjoyment it gave him, hence his love for flying airplanes. Dr. Kramer taught us more about life than the actual class lesson; there was a time he was going home for the day and stopped by the car club to check out the old school cars and also make fun of mine, he told members of the club about his experience and what he did to his cars.

What a Happy Hour Would do to a Person

I remember it vividly. My group had a really shitty presentation, but Dr. Kramer told us that he would buy the whole class a round of drinks at the local bar to celebrate us finishing the senior design class. I couldn’t believe it neither could my classmates and friends, but we didn’t let the opportunity pass us by. We truely got to know Dr. Kramer that night because he was talking to us like old friends, we were telling each other about our lives and just enjoying each others company.

I Wish I Would of…

After school finished I emailed Dr. Kramer a couple of times and would pretty much be checking up on each other to see if everything was okay. Once I read his words I was thrilled that he was doing fine and I went on with my life. I wish I would have talked to him more about my true passions and dreams because he truely showed and lived his passion every single day, especially when he was flying his planes and talking to people about flying. I wish I would have went to visit him when I was visiting other friends at college. I wish I would have seen the enjoyment of him flying his plane. I wish I would have knew him on an even more personal level.