Ramon Virgil Battles

Christmas tree farmer, biology teacher, and lifelong resident of Chesterland, Ramon Virgil Battles passed away on November 2, 2023 at the age of 92. He is survived by his loving wife of 55 years, Jane, his daughter Amy (David Payne), son Alexander (Alexis), and brother Glenn (Carol). He is preceded in death by his parents Lawrence and Mattie Battles, and his sister Cora Belle Battles. Ramon was born on his parents’ farm on Mulberry Road in Chester Township, Ohio on January 12, 1931. As a child, Ramon joined his father delivering eggs throughout greater Cleveland, and often walked “cross lots” to Chester School. He was a 10-year 4-H member and served on the Junior Fair Board. Ramon was a proud member of the Chester School graduating class of 1950, who continued to gather regularly six decades after graduation. At school, “Hawkeye”, as he was called, played 3 sports including center for the football team. Battles attended The Ohio State University from 1950 to 1954 where he worked in the “meat lab” (butchering meat for the dorms on campus), completed the school’s Army ROTC program, and began a lifelong passion for attending Buckeye football games. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Dairy Science, Battles served as a First Lieutenant in the US Army Signal Corps stationed in Pirmasens, Germany, where he installed telephone lines in Germany and France. Upon returning home, Ramon built a house on his parents’ property that he would live in for the rest of his life, doing much of the construction himself. He attended Kent State University on the G.I. Bill where he earned a Master of Education and his teaching certificate. He taught chemistry and biology at Cardinal High School from 1963-66. After leaving Cardinal to teach in Chagrin Falls, he received an invitation to a party arranged by his former students for him to meet a new teacher who had arrived at Cardinal after his departure. That night, he met Jane, the love of his life. The pair soon married, and Battles would forever refer to this group of students as “The Trappers!” Battles taught Biology at Chagrin Falls High School for over 20 years before his retirement in 1989. His classes brought students outdoors to study wildlife via “eco plots”, nature hikes, and creek walks where he would encourage “shore birds” to get their feet wet as they collected stream samples to study. A highlight for his seniors was the annual 3-day immersive trip to Cook Forest State Park in Pennsylvania or Hocking Hills State Park in Ohio. Battles planted his first blue spruces, scotch pines, and white pines on his 35-acre farm in the late 1970s. Over the years, area families would make it an annual tradition to visit Tower-N-Pines farm to cut their own Christmas tree. A second-generation member of the American Tree Farm System, Battles was active in the Ohio Christmas Tree Growers Association, who added him to their Board of Directors, and eventually, their Hall of Fame in 2015. Throughout his life, Battles delighted in nature walks, gardening, birding, and tree and flower identification. He shared this enthusiasm for nature with his family, taking them on cross-country camping trips to America’s National Parks, and helping to lead his son’s Indian Guides group and 4-H Ecology club. After retirement, Ramon & Jane enjoyed spending time on Jekyll Island, Georgia and birding at Magee Marsh in Maumee Bay, Ohio. Battles was also an avid fan of Western movies, historical fiction, Cleveland and Ohio State sports teams, and level one sudoku puzzles in the newspaper. Friends and family will remember him as a genuinely kind person with a perpetual smile and a sharp wit who was always willing to lend a hand. A Celebration of Life will be held at Orchard Hills Center, 11414 Caves Road, Chesterland, Ohio on November 29, 2023 from 12pm- 3pm. Memories of Ramon will be shared at 1pm. In lieu of flowers, donations in Ramon’s name may be made to Friends of Magee Marsh (PO Box 92, Port Clinton, OH 43452) or the Chagrin Falls Battles-Hurst Scholarship Fund (https://www.chagrinalumni.org/donations/).