Alice M. Rampey

Alice "Sue" Rampey, born on Aug. 24, 1933, to Richard Wayne Mendenhall and Gladys Simmerson Mendenhall, hung up her gardening gloves on Thursday, July 10, 2025, in Dallas, Texas. Sue passed just a few weeks shy of her 92nd birthday. She was preceded in death by her husband, retired Chief Master Sgt. James W Rampey, who died in 1992.

Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, she graduated from Central High School, then entered nurses training at a time nursing students could not be married. Her marriage to James W Rampey, active in the USAF at the time, cut her nursing school education short.

Sue loved being a military wife and the military life, both during her husband's active duty, as well as after his military retirement. During her husband's 20-year Air Force career, the family lived in six states and 3+ years in Germany. She was an avid traveler during her time in Germany and made sure the family took advantage of both the educational exposure as well as sightseeing opportunities. The family traveled throughout western Europe and even visited Cold War West Berlin when the city was still divided. Her love of travel continued throughout her life with multiple trips to Europe, Hawaii and throughout the U.S. After her husband's death, Sue lived in Sumter, South Carolina, then Honolulu, Hawaii, near her son Warren, and then Dallas, Texas, near her son Wayne.

Sue was an avid gardener and talented amateur landscape enthusiast, and her gardens and yards were often the envy of the neighborhood. She was highly involved as a volunteer, including the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum in Honolulu, at Tuomey Hospital in Sumter, prepared tax returns for seniors with the AARP and supported local SPCA initiatives. Sue did extensive research on her Mendenhall family history and as a result qualified to become a member of the DAR, Sumter, South Carolina, chapter.

Sue was fiercely independent and resourceful, a voracious reader and continued to complete even the most difficult crossword puzzles just weeks before her death.

Sue is survived by son, Wayne, and wife, Debbie; son, Warren, and wife, Sylvie; and two grandsons, Jeff and David.

A private family service will be held at Ft. Jackson National Cemetery in Columbia, South Carolina, on Wednesday, July 23, 2025.