John O Ramirez

In the early morning of August 21, 2024, John Ortega Ramirez peacefully passed away.

Johnny was a strong bodied, at times stubborn minded, generous and compassionate man who could hit a golf ball 10,00 miles and would melt at the sight of a little kid or dog. He could be climbing a ladder to help a neighbor fix their roof and break out in baby talk at the sight of their dog in the backyard. His nurturing nature naturally guided him to gardening and landscaping, always adding beauty to our homes. He was quick to offer help to anyone in need, especially those less fortunate than him. Which was most everyone, because dad always felt he was the luckiest man in the room. Because he had all of us: his friends and family. And especially his beloved wife, Anita (Quihuis). They spotted each other in the halls of Tucson High and never took their eyes off each other for 67 years. They were the loves of each other's lives and did everything together. In a strange twist, they even had dementia together. Dad probably got dementia so he could do it with mom! He was in awe of the beauty of life and forever philosophical about the experience of living in a world where life, in all it's forms, need one another to survive. He felt the pain of indignity toward others with a strong sense of right and wrong and felt personally affected by injustice toward humans or animals. He was a champion of the underdog and a backyard crusader against bullies and small mindedness. But most of all, Johnny was a great husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend.

Born in Clint Texas, raised in Tucson, he joined the navy and ultimately raised his own family in Southern California. The proud son of immigrants, his beloved parents Manuel and Ignacia Ramirez and brother to seven: Tola Romero (Frank), Belen Gallego (Rudy), Manuel (Esther), Lupe (Carol), Joe (Adi), Maria Angelina Valenzuela (Frank), and David. He loved his many nieces and nephews. His most treasured loves were his wife Anita and children John (Joseph) and Laura (Andrea) and his grandson Asher Ramirez Kelly. He was proud of and relished his role in all of our lives. He hurt when we hurt. He triumphed when we did. He loved us even when we faltered.

His favorite poem , Desiderata, was a road map of how he tried to live and be in this big, beautiful complicated world. He was a beautiful, strong and graceful gentleman, a "child of the universe, no less than the sun and the stars". His default when dealing with others or, any situation, was to stay open to love, compassion, understanding, acceptance and wonder. He was a lifelong learner who was always curious about the world, other cultures, history and geography. He believed we had much to learn from each other and made us feel heard and seen.

Though life threw him some curve balls, he always found his way using the deep well of love inside of him as his compass. He strove to be a better man and bravely faced his own personal challenges and in doing so, taught us to be fearless in our own pursuits of personal and spiritual awakening.

He was an exceptional golfer, the kind of golfer you would be happy to carry his bags just to watch him play. The kind of man who could build a house from a drawing on a napkin and who would wax poetically about the beauty of life and the mysteries of the universe. He could find the God in all of us.

He was “a child of the universe” and was, at the center of ours. We will miss your quiet, steadfast guidance, unconditional love and belief in us.

We will love you forever, dad.

In lieu of flowers the family would like to ask that send charitable donations in his name to one of the links below. But mostly, practice acts of kindness towards others and think of him when you do.

Casa de Los Ninos at https://www.casadelosninos.or…

or

Pima Animal Care Center at https://www.pima.gov/2286/Don…

Please join us for a Celebration of Life Ceremony

October 6, 2024 at 4:00

Urban Grove

550 W Orange Grove Rd

Tucson, AZ 85704