GERALD HARVEY RAMSEY
On Friday, June 6, 2014 the Vancouver Canucks
lost one of their most dedicated fans as cancer claimed victory over Gerald
Ramsey. Although cancer won the ultimate battle, it could never alter the
respect, admiration and love that Gerald had developed in his journey through
life. Gerald leaves behind many family members, friends and work colleagues
that will forever miss his quick wit, calm demeanor and helpful nature. Those
who had the good fortune to meet this amazing man very quickly fell victim to
his magnetic personality and became a fan for life. Unless he was having a
really bad day, he usually left you smiling after even a brief encounter.
Gerald leaves behind his wife Linda; daughter
Kristy Brown (Warren Stobbs); son Matt Brown; step daughter Jessica Lemer (Shawn
Juskow); stepson Joshua Lemer; grandsons Jakob and Ryan Stobbs; mother Mary
McDonald; mother-in-law Leona Lee; twin brother George Ramsey (Kimberley);
sisters Laurie, Eileen, Adrienna, and Jennifer; niece Linda Burns (Jason) and
son Dylan; and many other family members; friends; and work colleagues.
On November 3, 1963 Gerald was born in
Winnipeg, Manitoba, just 10 short minutes before his twin brother George who by
the way was still trying to beat his big brother at cribbage up to the very
end.
A main highlight is Gerald’s life
accomplishments came with the birth of his two children and subsequent
grandchildren who were of utmost importance to his happiness. He relished in
their accomplishments and was extremely proud of the absolutely amazing people
Kristy and Matt have grown to be.
Gerald had various jobs in his early working
life but quickly found his calling as one of the leading technical resources
for Reliance Products over 30 years ago. Under the fatherly leadership of
Claude Cormier, Gerald and his work partner and good friend Wayne Chief worked
their way through roles at Reliance developing irreplaceable technical
expertise and an extremely strong personal bond.
Although
I have considered Gerald a friend for over 18 years, it was only in recent
years when we helped each other through some personal changes, that we
concluded that we wanted to share our lives exchanging vows on January 18,
2014. I consider myself the luckiest
woman in the world to have had the honour of being the chosen life partner of
such an amazing man.
Gerald and I only attended one concert
together and the lyrics to one of this artist’s songs seem appropriate to
share:
My Old Friend
Today I
said goodbye to my old friend
I pray
some day we get to meet again
Under
one more clear blue sky
Up
there where the eagles fly
Yeah, I
know you’re up there looking down
On that
rainbow bridge we talked about
There’s
a place for me and you
Somewhere
up there behind the moon
Where
we’ll go walking in the sunshine
With a
big smile on our face
Race
the river to the ocean
Go
splashing in the waves
And
I’ll wrap my arms around you
We’ll
be together once again
And
I’ll tell you how much I’ve missed you
My old
friend
At Gerald’s request there will be no formal
services. His remains will be spread in
areas that Gerald felt significant in his life.
Gerald and I would like to thank all the
medical professionals at Cancer Care that helped him in his fight against Lung
Cancer and we would especially like to thank the Palliative Care team in
Winnipeg for care provided through Gerald’s final weeks. As a very special thank you, we both want to
thank the leadership and staff at Reliance Products for the support through this
very difficult time and the understanding and encouragement to spend time
together in the final weeks. You have
assured that there are NO REGRETS.
In lieu of flowers, the family would be
honoured by donations in Gerald’s memory to the Autism Society of Manitoba, 825
Sherbrook Street, Winnipeg, MB R3A 1M5 or Cancer Care Manitoba, 675 McDermot
Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3E 0V9.
Wojcik’s Funeral Chapel & Crematorium,
2157 Portage Avenue, 204.897.4665, is in care of arrangements - wojciksfuneralchapel.com
Wojcik’s
FUNERAL CHAPEL & CREMATORIUM
2157 PORTAGE AVENUE
204 – 897 - 4665
www.wojciksfuneralchapel.com
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