Andrew K. Cramer

Andrew Kreis Cramer passed away peacefully, in the presence of his wife Janice, on December 31, 2022 in Pittsburgh after a long and tenacious fight against cancer. He was 42 years old.

Andy was born on April 11, 1980 to John and Karen Cramer in Farmington, CT. Early on, he discovered his love of music and design. After graduating from Hempfield High School in Greensburg, PA, he went on to Roberts Wesleyan University in Rochester, NY where he earned a Bachelor’s in Graphic Design and Art Education in 2003.

Andy then pursued a Master of Design degree at Carnegie Mellon University with a focus on Interaction Design and Design Research. He became passionate about making positive change through interaction design and teaching. Andy launched his design career in New York City and contributed to the development of intuitive software for social workers at Case Commons as well as to other large-scale systems for corporations and nonprofits. All the while, Andy found opportunities to teach, including at New York University and Pratt Institute.

Andy met and fell in love with Janice Ahn in 2013. They were married at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in 2015, and settled in the Greenwich Village neighborhood. Their marriage was blessed with two little boys, Owen and Hugo. Andy loved to host, and he loved to be with friends. He delighted in music, enjoyed all things Mod (early 1960s), and loved to travel. Andy and Janice’s adventures took them to Ithaca, New Orleans, the Grenadines, and Copenhagen. Andy’s excitement when talking about a topic or idea of interest was as palpable as it was contagious. 

Andy always dreamed of concluding his design career with teaching as a full-time design professor, particularly at a small Christian liberal arts college, such as the one he attended. In January 2022, he began serving as Associate Professor of Interaction Design at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, CA. In his brief time there, he daily pushed through his illness to create curriculum and help establish a new Interaction Design offering within the Art and Design Department.

Andy was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in March 2020, when Janice was seven months pregnant with their second son and at the start of the pandemic. Andy’s last years were full of challenge, pain, longsuffering, and instability, with joy, hope, and gratitude in the midst of it. In his last months, being God’s child was Andy’s source of comfort. Andy knew Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and received his grace and mercy, referring to Psalm 4:8: “In peace I will lie down and sleep, / for you alone, Lord, / make me dwell in safety.” 

Andy is survived by his wife Janice, sons Owen (4) and Hugo (2), parents John and Karen, brother Benjamin (wife Christy and children Henry, Julia, and Cole), and uncles, aunts, and cousins.

Friends will be welcomed at Laughlin Cremation & Funeral Tributes, 222 Washington Road in Mount Lebanon, PA, on Saturday, January 7, from 10 AM – 1 PM followed by a funeral service at Beverly Heights Presbyterian Church, 1207 Washington Road, at 2 PM. The service will be live-streamed at https://beverlyheights.org/live/.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made in Andy’s honor to International Justice Mission www.ijm.org/ or that friends dedicate a NYC Parks tree or adopt a NYC bench in Andy's name https://www.nycgovparks.org/opportunities/support/honor.

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