Richard (Rick) Dean Ramey

Rick is survived by his loving and devoted wife of 20 years, Ryan Cobb Ramey, and his three beautiful daughters, Carter, Dorsey, and Press. Rick is also survived by his parents, Dean and Jane Ramey; his sister, Deanna Rogers (Craig), and his nephew Sam. There are also many uncles, aunts, cousins, and friends who will miss him dearly.

Rick was a lifelong native of Raleigh, NC from the age of 3, after his family moved here in 1975. He grew up in the Budleigh area of Raleigh, and was a proud Sherwood Bates Elementary Bear. He served as classroom reporter in the 4th grade and was known for his hard-hitting journalism, kind of a 4th grade Peter Doocy. Rick and his dad were also active in the YMCA Indian Guides. Big Buck and Little Buck had many adventures during that time.

After a brief (one-game) football career at Daniels Middle School (broke his arm in the first play), Rick quickly turned his athletic focus to cross country and baseball. Rick loved playing for Coach Brinkley Wagstaff (who didn’t?) and loved the guys he played baseball with. Many of them became lifelong friends. Rick’s favorite class at Broughton High School was PEPY, where he excelled at the parachute mushroom game. Rick lettered in both sports at Broughton High School and was a proud graduate of the Class of 1990 (where he liked his beats funky; he was spunky; and he liked his oatmeal lumpy) (If you were at the Class of 90 party at the Governor’s Mansion, you are laughing right now. If not, you are probably confused).

After graduating from Broughton, Class of 1990, Rick attended UNC Greensboro. There he double majored in History and Spanish. He took a year during that time to study at Clemson University, where he made many more friends and also nearly burned down his apartment that he shared with his sister Deanna. Fun times!

Rick joined Coach Wagstaff at Wendell Parks and Rec for several years, worked at NC State for a couple of more years, for those stories you can check with his compadres from those times. Rick loved every minute of those years. Rick took his field maintenance knowledge and experience and founded R and R Fields. He is still fondly remembered by all those in the Johnston County Schools athletic community because once you met Rick, you never forgot him. Rick’s generous nature knew no bounds, and he and his brother-in-law Craig, joined forces in 2004. During this time, Rick contributed to global warming by keeping his truck AC running at full-speed and on the lowest temperatures at ALL times in the summer.

Rick made the transition to insurance in 2009 when he joined his father, Dean Ramey, to form Dean Ramey Associates. There Rick served as Dean Wermer’s IT department, customer care representative, top sales rep, COO, and personal advisor on many issues. Rick also had the unenviable task of teaching Dean how to use technology, (still a work in progress).

In 2000, Rick’s buddy, Ned Mangum, introduced Rick to the love of his life, Ryan Cobb. There is no doubt that God’s hand was working in that setup, because “Rick and Ryan” is basically what they came to be known as. They were a team through and through. July 26, 2003, Rick and Ryan tied the knot and moved to Candlewood Drive in Raleigh, NC. They were blessed with Carter Elizabeth Ramey on August 23, 2004; with Dorsey Hayes Ramey on June 24, 2006; and they completed their Ramey 5 with Mary Prescott Ramey on March 13, 2008. Anyone who ever saw them together knows that Rick adored all four of his girls. There are few fathers who are as dedicated and intentionally involved and laser focused as Rick was. He taught them to attack life, to passionately love family and friends, and to trust Jesus with their lives no matter the hardships.

Rick taught the Kindergarten Sunday School class at Hayes Barton Baptist Church from 2005 - 2017, many of those years with Ryan. As you can imagine, the kids absolutely loved Rick with his goofy and funny ways. But he was able to shine the light of his faith into many lives during this time. Rick also coached t-ball for the City of Raleigh years before he had children of his own. And Coach Rick was there for all 3 of his girls for both soccer and basketball teams for many years. He touched so many lives of young people with his unique mix of humor and dedication to hard work.

It is really hard to sum up a life like Rick’s in just a few paragraphs. There are so many points of joy, light, inspiration, and love. At the end of the day, Rick was one-of-a-kind. He was a devoted and deeply loving husband and father; a fiercely loyal friend; a funny prankster who loved life and loved making people laugh; a dedicated son and brother.

But at the end of his life, Rick was an inspiration in his total and complete trust in God and his 100 percent assurance and certainty that he was going to see Jesus. What more could any of us ask of life? Let’s remember Rick as the shining light he was.

Psalm 56: 10 – 13 says “I praise God for what he has promised; yes, I praise the Lord for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me? I will fulfill my vows to you, O God, and will offer a sacrifice of thanks for your help. For you have rescued me from death; you have kept my feet from slipping. So now I can walk in your presence, O God, in your life-giving light.”

One thing we know for sure, we can rest easy in God’s promise that we will see Rick again when we cross over. And he will be there to make us laugh and celebrate again.

A service of celebration and remembrance was held at Hayes Barton Baptist Church on Tuesday, August 15, 2023. The service began at 11am and a visitation will follow in the church fellowship hall. The service was livestreamed and can be viewed through the following link, https://www.hbbc.org/memorial-services.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to The Millbrook Wildcat Club, 13917 Possum Track Rd. Raleigh, NC 27614 to the attention of: Kiersten Ely, or online at https://millbrookwildcatclub.memberhub.com/, or to Hilltop Home for children who have profound disabilities at Hilltop Home 2820 Kidd Rd. Raleigh, NC 27610, or online https://hilltophome.org/.

Service arrangements provided by Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 300 Saint Mary's St., Raleigh, NC.