Nov 29, 2023 By Eleanor Bailey 6 min read

Anna Marie Kramer of Scott Township has already beaten the odds. When she was born on Nov. 21, 1923, the life expectancy of females was 58 years.

At 100, however, Kramer is unlikely to achieve the goal set by Addison Condon. She is one of Kramer’s 29 great great grandchildren.

Along with 17 other grandchildren, not to mention three great-great-great-grandchildren, as well as seven offspring and their spouses, Condon attended a special celebration held on Nov. 26 at the Crowne Plaza Suites in Bethel Park to mark the milestone.

“I just wanted to wish her a happy birthday,” said Condon. “I hope she has a great day and that she will never die because she is my favorite.”

Family members are not the only ones to whom Kramer has endeared herself. She is adored by aliens like Magda Lukacova and loved by friends such as Janet Johnson.

Twenty years ago, Kramer embraced Lukacova, an immigrant from Slovakia. As a thank you, Lukacova presented Kramer a hand-made purse for a centennial birthday present.

“She was the first to make me feel welcome when I came to the United States,” Lukacova said. “She was so happy and nice. She has a lot of energy and a great personality. She is my inspiration. It’s unbelievable that she reached 100.”

Johnson agreed. A Scott Township resident, she is neighbors with Kramer and a bowling partner.

“Once in a while in your life, someone enters it and makes an impression upon you. She is one of them,” Johnson said.

“(Anna Marie) is the kindest, sweetest person. She has a great wit. She’s always smiling. I couldn’t be more happy that she crossed my life. She will always be in my heart and I will have a memory of her forever.”

Kramer has lived in a memorable time.

In the past 100 years, there have been many inventions from microwave ovens to electric toothbrushes; television sets to cellphones and laptop computers. There have been many advances in medicine from the discovery of penicillin to a vaccine for polio to organ transplants. Kramer said that she couldn’t say which invention has enhanced her life most, but she did say that she is grateful for having all of her children’s numbers in her phone so she can easily access them.

“I have them numbered for me. No. 1. No. 2,” she said with a laugh.

“So many different things happened in my life,” she added. “I don’t think they were all good,” Kramer said. “Some I would have preferred not happen.”

World War II, the Great Depression and the 1936 Pittsburgh flood were three such calamities. Yet Kramer survived them all.

“I was just telling the grandchildren about the gas mantles,” she said. “When we had the big flood, I was a little girl. We went to the hardware store to get those because there was no electricity in the houses. Actually, we rented houses. No one owned them then but that was a long time ago.”

Eighty-one years ago, Kramer was engaged but her future husband enlisted with the United States Marine Corps after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.

“World War II was the worst because (James) was away for three years. We got married a month after he got home.”

During more than four decades of marriage to James A. Kramer Sr., the couple had seven children.

The first child was christened Jim. He is married to Patty and the couple reside in South Park. They had two children, Michelle and Molly.

Debbie followed. She and her husband live in Whitehall and had three children, Jonah, Gretchen, and Rachel.

Claudia is a Midwesterner now, calling Illinois home with her husband, Bill Kohlbrenner. They added three more sons, Ryan Kevin and Mick, to the family tree.

Joe Kramer and his wife, Pam, live in McMurray and their children, Brandon and Ashley, attended Peters Township High School.

Judy married Ron Styperk and reared their two children, Jennifer and Jay, in Mt. Lebanon before relocating to Canonsburg.

The youngest are David and Maribeth. David wed Kathy and they had two children, David and Amy. Maribeth married Brad Vogl and they provided Kramer with grandchildren, No. 15, 16 and 17, Heather, Adam and Lindsey.

“Having and raising seven children has been my fondest memory,” Kramer said.

Faith has enabled Kramer to not harden her heart when beset by personal challenges. She lost her eyesight to macular degeneration as well as fell ill during the pandemic.

Though she stopped playing bridge due to her compromised eyesight, she bowled into her 90s. A white ball, purchased by her family, enabled her to see where the ball was going as it rolled down the lane.

“There is nothing better than throwing a ball, whether it goes down the alley or in the gutter. You are still using your body and that is what you need to do,” said Johnson.”

Because her mother had the disease, Kramer expected macular degeneration. “It runs in families,” she said.

Two years ago, Kramer contracted COVID-19 and developed pneumonia. She was sent home from St. Clair Hospital and was enrolled in hospice.

“I really thought she was going as she laid in bed and on oxygen, but then they kicked her off hospice,” said her daughter, Judy. “Even when the doctor checked her heart and they gave her six weeks to live. I still thought she was going.”

Kramer was administered last rites but she survived.

“The priest came and blessed me,” she said. “My kids tease that he is the one that performed the miracle. He prayed for me.

“Strong faith has gotten me through life,” she added.

For a long life, she advised, “Keep believing in God, laugh and have a good time.”

Kramer was one of the first parishioners at St. Simon and Jude Church. She’s been active in the parish’s Christian Mothers and Ladies of Charity groups. She’d visit shut-ins and send handwritten greeting cards to people, often forgotten during the holidays and other seasonal occasions.

“She’s been a busy lady,” said Styperk. “While Dad was busy working two jobs, she was home in the kitchen, doing laundry and raising seven responsible, hard-working kids.

Styperk also noted that staying in her own home has extended her mother’s life. It also enables her to continue to perform her matriarchal duties.

“Mom is a great communicator. She always has a smile and a funny thing to say,” Styperk said. “I still depend upon her when I’m down. We are so blessed to have her here.”

“She’s a superwoman,” said Kramer’s first grandchild, Michelle Condon. “I hope I live to be 100 like her, too.”

Anne Marie Kramer holds the youngest of her great, great, great grandchildren, 11-week-old Hudson Kramer. Kramer turned 100 years old on Nov. 21.

Anna Marie Kramer digs into her birthday cake. The Scott Township resident celebrated her 100th birthday on Nov. 21. She was born in 1923.