Samuel Kramer, a pioneer in Hawai'i men's fashion whose Kramer's Men's Wear stores clothed many a young man over the past 70 years, died Jan. 31. He was 94.

Kramer, who had a humble personality and a witty humor, was a highly admired local businessman who started Kramer's in Downtown Honolulu in 1939 and built the company up to a half-dozen stores at its height. One store, Big & Tall By Kramer's, continues on today in Kaka'ako .

"We will miss him in the retail world," said Dale Hope, a Hawai'i apparel industry veteran. "He had a good run."

Kramer was born in Chicago, raised in New York and got into the apparel business with his father in California making uniforms for naval servicemen in the early 1930s.

The "civilian tailor" — as he was known to many servicemen — had a store in San Pedro and would board naval ships in port to take orders and measurements for sailors at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard.

But as the threat of war loomed and Navy ships were being deployed, Kramer decided to follow the USS Salt Lake City heavy cruiser to Pearl Harbor as a temporary assignment.

"He stayed for 70 years," said Jeffrey Kramer, one of two sons and the operator of Big & Tall By Kramer's.

After World War II, Kramer extended the business to civilian clothes for servicemen, and later transitioned out of naval uniforms to men's wear for general consumers with a specialization in young men's fashion.

Jeffrey Kramer, 53, said his dad was keen on bringing fashionable apparel back to Hawai'i from trade shows on the Mainland.

"He pioneered a lot of fashion in this town," Jeffrey Kramer said. "When the hippy look came in, he was a 53-year-old man going to Los Angeles buying hippy clothes for young people in Honolulu."

Apparel veteran Hope said that before there were many apparel retailers on the Big Island, Maui and Kaua'i, Neighbor Island residents would routinely fly to Honolulu to shop at Kramer's for back-to-school clothes.

ALOHA SHIRTS, TOO

Hope, creative director for Kahala Sportswear and author of the book "The Aloha Shirt," also said Kramer's was one of the early makers and retailers of aloha shirts, initially carrying a line made by Royal Hawaiian Manufacturing Co. and later adopting its own Islander Sportswear label adorned with the image of a Hawaiian warrior.

Kramer in 1975 was named retailer of the year by the Men's Apparel Guild in California, a trade association known as MAGIC. In 1989, the Retail Merchants of Hawai'i trade group named Kramer retailer of the year.

The golden era for Kramer's was the 1970s. Jeffrey Kramer said the business moved beyond his father's expectations as baby boomers became his primary customer.

At its height, the company operated six stores. Store locations included a flagship at Ala Moana Center that opened in 1966, Pearlridge Center, Windward Mall, Kailua and two stores on Maui. A Big & Tall store at Ala Moana moved to Kaka'ako in 1997. The Ala Moana flagship closed in 2002.

Jeffrey Kramer said the economic downturn in the 1990s was hard on the company. His dad stayed active in the business until he was 84, 10 years ago, though he remained interested throughout retirement. "He retired in the saddles so to speak," Jeffrey Kramer said.

ALWAYS A GENTLEMAN

Deidre "Didi" Bishaw, a clothing buyer with Kramer's for 26 years, said her boss made employees feel like family and believed in taking care of his 'ohana.

"He was a man of integrity, kind-hearted, and one of the nicest men I knew," she said.

Bishaw recalled trips to a biannual industry convention in Las Vegas where it was typical for her to accumulate a heavy load of manufacturer catalogs. A consummate gentleman, Kramer would always offer to carry the bag of catalogs.

"I always protested, but he reminded me on who the boss was, and he'd carry the load for me," Bishaw said. "I loved my job and admired the man I worked for. ... I know that I am a better person to have been touched by Mr. Kramer's goodness."

Kramer, in addition to being well respected by employees and by those in the retail industry, also created a lasting impression on many servicemen, especially crew of the USS Salt Lake City.

Jeffrey Kramer said veterans of the ship invited his father to a reunion of those who served on the cruiser that saw lots of battle in World War II. Kramer's son said that meant a lot to his dad, who gained phenomenal insight to the war because of the relationships with those on the ship.

"My dad lived a very, very long life," he said. "I'm proud to say we're still serving Hawai'i."

Kramer is survived by wife, Lillian; daughters Roberta Jackler, Simone Andrade and Ricky Thomas; sons Jeffrey Kramer and Richard Botkin; 12 grandchildren; great-grandchildren.

Visitation is 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday at Nuuanu Memorial Park & Mortuary; service is at 6 p.m. Aloha attire is requested. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Hawaii Foodbank or the National Kidney Foundation of Hawai'i.