A fitting tribute to the late Bob Kremer’s legacy

Bob Kremer was a consensus builder, a trusted man of faith who was the same person in public as he was during his time in the Nebraska Legislature. Ten years after his death, it is fitting and oh so appropriate that the community is tipping its hat to this native son by naming a street in his honor in the new subdivision south of town on Highway 14. 
This decision was made official last week when the Aurora City Council approved a final plat in the Mission Critical Second Addition, where a primary north-south street in the 135-acre development will be known as Kremer Avenue, a lasting tribute on land he once called home. An ag-based anchor tenant is building a facility at the site now on the west side of the future Kremer Avenue, with interest already growing for other businesses to plant a flag here or expand existing operations.
“My dad loved farming and cattle,” Kremer’s daughter Shauna Moody recalled this week. “He also loved that he lived in Aurora and wanted to see it grow and prosper. He was a man of great integrity who served people and cared about others. He never liked attention directed towards him, but he would be proud to see that the community is growing and promoting agriculture.”
I couldn’t agree more with that sentiment, on both counts. Aurora is indeed a progressive ag/based community and Bob Kremer had a hand and voice in creating that culture, as did his father Maurice, also a highly respected state senator in his day. I counted Bob as a friend in the time I knew and worked with him, both as a state senator from 1999-2007, and as a community leader often looked to for input and advice. He was humble, carrying a quiet but confident demeanor that reflected his deep faith in God.
“His involvement in church, community and agriculture was a way for him to serve God and others and make Nebraska a better place to live and work,” Shauna said. “Thank you for honoring his service to the community and his dedication to agriculture by naming a street in his memory.”
The Kremer family can be proud of Bob’s enduring legacy.

KURT JOHNSON can be reached at kjohnson@ hamilton.net