Dick Kremer, former Hennepin County commissioner, dies

Richard Kremer was a respected civil engineer and a Hennepin County commissioner for seven years, until 1984.

As a Republican, he was often on the losing side of a 4-3 majority, but he never let politics get in the way of work or friendships, said John Derus, who served as board chairman during some of those years.

Kremer, 87, died Monday of heart disease in Edina.

"He was a man of few words. He went right to the issue and said what he had to say," said Don Brauer, 80, a longtime friend and engineer.

Kremer served several terms as president of the Minneapolis Engineering Club, Brauer said. "He was not just a joiner, but one of the people who really did the work," he said.

Derus said Kremer was the only commissioner he knew who visited and inspected every Hennepin County building and who actually read the voluminous background material provided for every board meeting.

"I read what I could, but not all of it," Derus said. "I'd say something, and he'd say, 'That's not right.' I'd say, 'Yes it is.' He'd cite page 12, line 6. He was right every time."

That led the conservative Kremer to vote sometimes for county programs to help the sick or poor, Derus said.

"He lived his religion but didn't wear it on his sleeve," Derus said. "He was fair-minded, a thoroughly decent gentleman. ... a great public servant."

Kremer received a Distinguished Engineer Award in 2001 from the Minnesota Federation of Engineering Societies for lifetime achievements.

In 1980, Kremer uncovered "a sweetheart deal" involving the Chanhassen Center, a private alcohol treatment center with a county contract. The Minneapolis Star reported that county administrators had wrongly sent an almost $100,000 advance to the center without board approval.

After repairing planes in the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II, Kremer earned an engineering degree at the University of Minnesota.

Kremer was a quiet, methodical, astute man who "worked long hours from early to late and had to do the bid work, so he was gone a lot," his wife said. "I took care of the kids. But he was a good dad."

In addition to his wife, survivors include a daughter, Nancy Phillips, of Murray, Ky.; five sons, Richard Jr., of Houston, John, of Hudson, Wis., Mark, of Eden Prairie, PJ, of Sedalia, Colo., and David, of Minneapolis; a brother, Robert, of Cupertino, Calif., 12 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.