Frances Elizabeth Kramer, who passed away on January 11, 2021, has left a gift that will benefit future Frontier Nursing University (FNU) students for decades to come. Kramer left a $50,000 bequest to the university to establish the Frances Elizabeth Kramer Scholarship.
“We are honored to establish the Frances Elizabeth Kramer Scholarship at Frontier Nursing University,” said FNU Chief Advancement Officer Angela Bailey, MA, CFRE. “As a member of the FNU Leadership Council, she helped guide the future of the university, which she supported with remarkable generosity.”
Per Ms. Kramer’s wishes, The Frances Elizabeth Kramer Scholarship has been established to support students in Eastern Kentucky, specifically in Leslie and Clay Counties who intend to practice in those counties upon graduation.
Ms. Kramer was born on April 24, 1931, in Heidelberg, Ky., to Harvey H. and Maude Hyden Hensley. Soon thereafter, they moved to Hyden, in Leslie County, Ky. Ms. Kramer graduated 9th grade from Cardome Academy in Georgetown and high school from Nazareth Academy in Nelson County in 1949.
She earned an associate’s degree in art from Stephens College in Columbia, Mo., in 1951 and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Wilmington College in Wilmington, Oh., in 1953. Ms. Kramer was a schoolteacher in Ohio before moving to Lexington, in the early 1960s to enter the real estate business. She owned and developed residential real estate for over 60 years.
Ms. Kramer was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution for more than 70 years, the Merry Wives of Greenbriar Club for 57 years, and the Kentucky Mountain Club for over 50 years, serving as its president for eight years.
A proud Kentucky Colonel, Ms. Kramer was passionate about teaching others to invest in themselves and the stock market. She encouraged people to get as much education as they could. She established several scholarship funds to help students from Leslie and Clay Counties in Eastern Kentucky, including the Frances Elizabeth Hensley Kramer Endowed Scholarship at Eastern Kentucky University. She also established a scholarship fund at the First Presbyterian Church of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., giving preference to students attending Centre College in Danville, Ky., and Stetson University in Deland, Fla.
For more information on how to give to FNU and how your gift can make a difference, please visit Frontier.edu/give-to-fnu/.

David Kramer (center), his wife Martha (left), and daughter Lynn (far left) present a check to FNU Dean of Nursing Dr. Joan Slager and FNU Chief Advancement Officer Angela Bailey (far right)