Ruth Ramsay was born on November 22nd, 1922 in Timbuktu, Manchester, Jamaica to Lillian Hyman-Scott and Henry Rattray. She attended the School of Nazareth where she completed her education at age fifteen. Despite limited early education, she was a brave and courageous woman who had the will and determination of a pioneer. In Jamaica, she was a devoted homemaker and mother who ran a grocery store with her dear husband, Ira Josephs until he passed in 1965. Their union produced six children – Edith Haisman (Paul), Lillet Suba (Errol), Daphne Raymore (Alvin), Dr. Yvonne Angelastro (Gerard), Assad Josephs and Jean Tackore (Keeling). She was well known and loved by all in her district and the Nazareth Moravian Church in Maidstone, Manchester. When she left Jamaica in the late sixties to the United States, there were very few people who had taken that journey.
Mom entered the U.S. through Canada. She said it was an arduous journey. She, and two other women, met with an immigration attorney at the airport in Canada. She did not know him beforehand. She lived in Toronto, Canada for six months. During this time, the lawyer had secured a place for her to work in New York. He helped her cross over from Canada into the U.S on a very cold wintery night. However, she was on the road for the same reasons then that people today still migrate to America – a better life for herself and her children. When our dad passed away she had six children to raise on her own. They boarded the train and she kept her head down, fearing that she would be caught, though she had proper documentation. The lawyer arranged for someone to meet her at the station. Shortly after, she had started her job. She worked as a nanny for several people in Manhattan and Long Island. Eventually, she found a job in Forest Hills with a wonderful family, the Goldsmiths, for whom she took care of their son. They treated her as if she were a member of the family. Following that job, she got a job at Unity Hospital where she trained to become an LPN. When that hospital closed, she worked at Kingsbrook Hospital until she retired in 1987 after surviving a heart attack. She worked double shifts at the hospital, often coming home very late at night. She didn’t drive, she travelled via subway and bus. Mom was brave enough to come to America, but she was afraid to drive a car.
She loved to travel. Along her travels, she frequently visited her daughter, Edith and her family in England. She visited many countries in Europe, but fell in love with Athens, Greece. She spent her final years in the tender care of her daughter Jean, after moving to Florida in 1995 from New York. Here, she remained active, touring with the Coral Springs Senior Group. She also became a member of the Park Springs Presbyterian Church, now North Creek Presbyterian with her daughter Lillet and her family.
These life experiences became the foundation in the upbringing of her children. Reverence for God and family, the worth and value of education, respect for ourselves and others, were all inter-woven in the tapestry of our characters. This carried over to her 13 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and 1 great-great-granddaughter. Nanny, as she was affectionately called by her grandchildren, willingly cared for them as if they were her own, with love, adoration and a firm hand. We cherish these blessings today, which were bequeathed to us by our dear Mom as we grew in her bold and devoted hands. We all express our appreciation for the role Mom played in our lives. On this day, when we bid goodbye to Mom, we want to say “Thank you Mom” for being the model from which we take our pattern.
Ruth Ramsay went to be with her Lord and Savior on Saturday, June 9th, 2018 while at Plantation General Hospital in Plantation, Florida. She is survived by her six children and her siblings: Sylvia, Veronica and Cefius and she is predeceased by her siblings: Daniel, Edward, Angus and Uriel.
In Lieu of floral tributes the family is requesting contributions be made to North Creek Presbyterian Church (954-428-8772) in her loving memory.
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