Obituary notice for Maria Reed Kremper
Mon, 04/06/2020 - 12:01pm
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Maria Kremper, 43, of Bemidji, MN passed away on Saturday, March 21 at the Sandford Medical Center in Fargo, ND after a very short illness resulting in complications due to lung cancer.
Maria Elena Gregorio Samonteza was born in the Philippines on October 12, 1976. After her mother passed away, Maria was placed in an orphanage in Manilla at the age of 4 and was adopted by Patrick and Carol Reed of Leonard, MN in 1984.
After sleeping for 17 hours after the long flight, Maria, who had never seen snow before, delighted in playing out in the fluffy stuff a large part of the day while also petting the cattle. She loved animals, especially her kittens and goats, although she wasn't too fond of having to milk cows when she got older! She started first grade in Clearbrook and quickly made friends who made her feel welcome and helped her learn English and American customs. She later designed and sewed some of her own clothes and also created beautiful flower gardens, including a frog pond.
During her years in the Clearbrook school, Maria was a cheerleader, played volleyball, played trumpet in the band, was a Valentine Royalty Attendant and received a congratulatory letter recognizing her in Who's Who in American High School Students. She was also a Clearwater County Dairy Princess attendant. She graduated from high school in 1995 and from the two year Communications Art and Design program at Alexandria Technical College in 1997. Maria was an extremely gifted artist and preferred drawing in ink. She then moved to Walker and worked at Ditto's, later moving to Cass Lake.
She married Chad Kremper in 2000. Three children, Cameron, Gavin and Amber were born into the Kremper family. Chad and Maria later divorced. Maria worked at various jobs over the years and also designed, made and sold unique and beautiful jewelry. She was employed by Crazy About Cleaning in Bemidji at the time of her death. She was delighted to connect with her biological family in the Philippines last November and to communicate with them through pictures and Skype. She had plans to visit them in the Philippines next year.
Maria is survived by her children, Cameron, Gavin and Amber Kremper of Cass Lake, parents Patrick and Carol Reed of Leonard, brothers Jason Reed of Osakis, Josh (Staci) Reed of Leonard, Jennifer and Rafael Gregorio and other relatives in the Philippines, nephews Christian, Spencer, Kyle and Garrett Reed and nieces Brittany (Andrew) Beckstrand and Ashlyn Reed.
She was preceded in death by her biological mother, Maxima Gregorio, biological brothers Francisco and Alberto Gregorio.
A memorial service will be announced and held at a later date.
