Jeanne Elizabeth Diduch Ramirez

When Jeanne Elizabeth Ramirez walked into the room, those in her company felt energy, an enthusiastic spontaneity. This was just one example of who Jeanne was and how she impacted those around her. Jeanne was a clever and gregarious person who always sought out the finest attributes in other people. It was as if Jeanne wanted to share all of their experiences, revel in their lives and celebrate their discoveries. Jeanne was tireless and had boundless enthusiasm that would serve her well throughout her life.

Jeanne was born on May 21, 1946 at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Pontiac, Michigan. She was the daughter of William L. And Lois Joy Sisty. Jeanne was raised in Oxford, Michigan. Always at the ready with a good joke, she grew up to be quite a humorous person. While some who knew Jeanne might describe her as an idealist, her friends and family understood well that Jeanne was always in pursuit of life’s endless possibilities and opportunities available to her.

Jeanne was raised with three siblings. She had a younger brother, Stephen Sisty and two sisters, JoAnne Lee Turner and Jan Marguerite Markus. Jeanne was very accepting and supportive of her family. She was perceived as the central person in her family in terms of keeping communication open between the family members. Whenever discord or tension arose within the home, Jeanne was typically the member who brought about resolution and harmony. These traits served Jeanne well in her adult life and, along with her wit, outgoing personality, and understanding of others, drew the admiration of many who knew her.

As a young girl, Jeanne was able to empathize and identify with a vast array of people and personality types. This quality drew her into a diverse group of friends and acquaintances. Jeanne was intelligent and had little trouble getting along with her peers. She was almost always the first to jump in when it came to playing games or participating in other childhood activities. She participated in choir, Jobe's Daughters, Honors Club and played the piano. In her spare time she liked cooking, baking, reading and writing. Jeanne's memorable achievements included being on the Honor Roll. Jeanne had the ability to find amusement with almost any activity she and the many childhood friends she shared might discover.

During her high school years, Jeanne responded enthusiastically to any new project and was regularly in search of one adventure after another. She graduated from Livermore High School in 1964. Jeanne was a very good student, and generally did well in her courses. Jeanne absorbed as much as she could from all of her teachers and was consistently able to tackle conceptual and abstract problems, using her imagination to master her assignments. For Jeanne, school often became just an extension of playtime, thanks to her ability to turn just about anything into a game. Classmates considered Jeanne a good listener, knowing that when necessary, they could go to her to discuss just about anything. Her favorite class in high school was English.

Jeanne did well in college, as a result of her comfort level with tackling new theories and her love of learning. She earned her Associate of Arts degree from San Francisco State. She also attended Ball Secretarial School in San Francisco. Her favorite course was English. Jeanne was very adaptable, a quality that helped her make the transition from high school to college with little difficulty. As a result, Jeanne's problem solving skills and thirst for new knowledge almost guaranteed that she enjoyed virtually every class she took. Jeanne was always in quest of new things to learn and experience.

With a talent for making acquaintances easily which in turn brought her an endless stream of friends, Jeanne was very sociable and could blend without effort into any social group. Assertive and outgoing, Jeanne was easy to know and demonstrated a deep concern for others. She always seemed aware of what was going on with people around her and throughout her life she made many, many friends. Later in life, she became friends with everyone she met!

In 1967 Jeanne married George Diduch at the Russian Orthodox Church of San Francisco. Jeanne's skill at “building bridges” played an important role in her ability to make her new family happy.

On February 19, 1994 she married Francisco Ramirez until his untimely death on June 12, 2006.

Jeanne was a natural and creative parent who was willing to provide her family with all sorts of new and interesting experiences. For Jeanne, parenting was a particularly enjoyable and pleasurable part of her life. Every activity, from chores to bedtime routines, became a game in the Ramirez home. Jeanne's skill at understanding her children's feelings, her sensitivity to their needs, and her gift for gentle persuasion enabled her to find novel solutions to any problem or situation that might crop up. Jeanne was blessed with two children: Christina Diduch Dickinson and Natasha Diduch Dana. They were also blessed with three grandchildren, Sean Edward Divine Dickinson III, Riley Elizabeth Dickinson and Connor George Dickinson.

Jeanne was uplifted by new ideas and was excited by life’s possibilities, traits that made her an exceptional worker. Her primary occupation was sales/marketing. Jeanne was enterprising, inventive and working against deadlines seemed to energize her. Jeanne had the uncanny ability to identify a win/win solution to just about any problem, possibly because of her gift for insight. Jeanne's fellow workers saw her as a supporter and a mentor.

Because Jeanne loved to have a broad variety of activities in her life, she took advantage of the opportunity to pursue numerous hobbies. Her favorite pursuits were dancing, singing, arts and crafts, reading, going to the movies, entertaining, volunteering and fundraising. Jeanne had a knack for being able to multi-task in order to create time for all of her favorite pastimes. However, Jeanne's ever-present concern for others always took precedent.

Jeanne derived much satisfaction from participating in and watching sports. Her charisma, supportive nature and ability to improvise when called upon to do so all made perfect attributes for enjoying a great many sporting activities. In high school, Jeanne played tennis. Jeanne was also something of a sports fan and enjoyed watching her favorite events whenever she got the opportunity.

Throughout her life, Jeanne was actively involved in professional and community organizations. She was compassionate, accommodating and quick to move into action. Always able to build a consensus, Jeanne seemed to be the person smack dab in the middle of things, working to get things done. Those who had the opportunity to work with Jeanne usually agreed that when you were involved in an organization with her, it was as entertaining as anything you could imagine.

Because Jeanne was constantly in the center of things and where the action was, she always seemed willing to join in and help, regularly getting involved in community activities. Jeanne's gift of planning and improvisation, along with a talent for rallying support, made her a great asset. Jeanne found new ways of getting things done in order to help make just about every activity more efficient and enjoyable. Jeanne was an active member of several community groups, serving on committees for the American Cancer Society, Operation Kids Komfort, United Way, Day of Caring, ARC of Riverside, Nine Zero Games, Pass Resource Center, Red Hat Society, and Rotary Club.

Jeanne was a woman who was dedicated and devoted to her faith. She was a member of the Orthodox Church, the Christian Church and the Religious Science Church. She was sympathetic and able to empathize with others and she used these qualities to the fullest while working tirelessly for her beliefs.

Though she never did anything solely for individual recognition, Jeanne's ingenuity, resourcefulness, and selflessness, earned her accolades for her many lifelong efforts. Jeanne was very involved with many different civic organizations and was awarded numerous awards throughout her lifetime.

Jeanne's love of improvising in her daily life was a perfect fit for her enjoyment of traveling. Her favorite vacations were ones that were not planned. Traveling in a casual manner fit her personality well. Excited about seeing changing scenery and constantly looking for the enjoyment life could offer, Jeanne took her vacations seriously, well, as seriously as she possibly could. Jeanne loved to travel everywhere.

Jeanne was a lover of animals and cherished her pets. Jeanne had several beloved dogs in her lifetime, a few of them were Schultz and Schroeder, Mr. Bones and Jake the Bear.

When Jeanne's retirement finally came in 2009 she did not act like she was retired! Jeanne handled it the way she usually did. She adapted and, like everything in her life, made it satisfying. Because she was such a flexible person and able to adjust to any situation, retirement was just another enjoyable change of pace for Jeanne to master. Her new life involved relocating to Beaumont, California. In retirement, she found new pleasure in being actively involved in her community. Even in retirement, Jeanne continued to stay in touch with her old friends and like always, made plenty of new ones.

Jeanne Ramirez passed away on February 19, 2012 at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, California. She is survived by her two daughters, Christina Dickinson and her husband Sean, and Natasha Dana and her husband, Matt; three grandchildren; Sean, Riley and Connor Dickinson; two sisters, JoAnne Turner, and Jan Markus and her husband Harry; and sister-in-law, Susan Sisty. Services were held at 1:00 PM on Monday, February 27, 2012 at Weaver Mortuary Chapel 1177 Beaumont Avenue, Beaumont, CA 92223. Jeanne was laid to rest in Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California with her second husband, Francisco Ramirez.

There was always a certain style and inventiveness to Jeanne. She was a dynamic, self-expressive person who was forever looking to celebrate the endless possibilities life had to offer. She had a knack for being clever, creative and witty, and for others, was a joy to be around. While she was often fiercely independent, it seemed as if many others looked to Jeanne Ramirez for inspiration, leadership, wisdom and even courage. Jeanne was always more than willing to share life’s experiences with her loved ones.