Margaret "Marge" Kramer Parr

Durham, NC – Margaret “Marge” Kramer Parr, age 90, died on Friday, July 17, 2026, at Hillcrest Convalescent Center in Durham, NC. She was born in Cincinnati on October 2, 1935, to the late Frank J. Kramer and Anna G. Kramer. She is survived by her sister, Marie C. Kramer.

Marge obtained her nursing degree from Xavier University, and her Master’s degree in Nursing Education from Indiana University. Marge was instrumental in establishing the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at Watts Hospital in Durham where she served as its head nurse. In 1976, following the merger of Watts Hospital with Durham County Regional Hospital (now Duke Regional Hospital), Marge helped establish the neurology/neurosurgery nursing unit and oncology nursing unit within the Durham Hospital Corporation (now Duke Regional Hospital). She was the managing nurse of those units as well as the orthopedic nursing units. She helped initiate Primary Care Nursing which is when one registered nurse assumes 24-hour accountability for a patient's care from admission through discharge. Marge believed very deeply in the nursing profession where she helped establish protocols, procedures, and nursing practices. Before retiring in 1994, she led the staffing education department. In addition to dedicating so much of her life to the healthcare field as a registered nurse, Marge also served as a flight nurse in the Airforce Reserves for six years from August 1965 to July of 1972.

In addition to her parents, Marge was preceded in death by her loving husband, Blaine Franklin Parr, and her sister, Florence (Wilbur) Bonhaus. Marge was aunt of nieces and nephews; Dale (Lois) Bonhaus, Patricia (Paul) Beck, Larry (Sherry) Bonhaus and Linda (Michael) McCabe; ten great nieces and nephews, eight great-great nieces and nephews, and one great-great-great nephew.

A funeral mass will be held at 11:00 am on Monday, August 24, 2026 at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 810 W. Chapel Hill St. Durham, NC 27701. Attendees are invited to join the family for a reception following the mass at the church. Inurnment will follow the reception at 2:00 pm in the columbarium at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 11401 Leesville Rd. Raleigh, NC 27613.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 810 W. Chapel Hill St. Durham, NC 27701 or St. Martin of Tours Church, 3720 St. Martins Place Cincinnati, OH 45211.