Jay Kramer was born May 21, 1925 in Clay County, Kansas, the son of John and Esther (Bruns) Kramer. He grew up in the Longford, KS area and graduated from Longford Rural High School in 1942. He served in the Army Air Force during WWII. Jay married Betty Lou Beals on May 16, 1948 and she preceded him in death on May 20, 2006. The couple farmed in the Longford area until moving to Emporia in 1984, where Jay worked as a mail carrier. They later returned to Longford. Kramer enlisted in the Army at age 19. His basic training was in Texas. The bombs had been dropped in Japan and Kramer was part of the occupation efforts. He landed in Okinawa and rode a train to Tokyo, riding by parts of the devastation from the bombs. Kramer worked in communications for the Army Air Corps..