Ramiro “Ray” Ramirez Jr, son of Ramiro and Rebecca Rodriguez Ramirez was born in El Paso, Texas on January 10, 1933. Ray was the eldest of three children: sister Nenetzin Taggart and brother Rudy Ramirez. He attended Ascarate Elementary, graduated from Ysleta High School and earned a B.A. in Education from Texas Western (now U.T.E.P) in 1956. Ray loved his country, and he joined the Army and was stationed in Germany for 4 years, where he was a member of the Combat Command “C” Band. He returned to El Paso, Texas, but kept his love for travel and other cultures.
He attended El Divino Redentor United Methodist Church, where he met Yolanda Medina. They married 1960. He taught at Lydia Patterson Institute, Henderson Middle School and Guillen Middle School. Ray and Yolanda were married for nearly 60 years and had two daughters, Heidi Brown and Jennifer McDonald. Ray was a caring and loving father. He always attended his daughters’ and grandchildren’s events. Ray was known by his family to have a wonderful sense of humor and tell many jokes. He loved to make people smile. Ray was a huge fan of local sports and attended many Ysleta High School football games, UTEP basketball and football games, and Chihuahua baseball games. He was also talented musician, played several instruments and enjoyed photography. Ray celebrated his 87th birthday a few days before he passed peacefully into the Lord’s hands Wednesday, January 15, 2020. His smile, sense of humor and kind words will be missed.
He is survived by his loving wife Yolanda Medina Ramirez; daughters Heidi Brown and Jennifer McDonald; grandchildren Pamela Brown, Jonathan Brown, Kristin McDonald, Sean McDonald and Sons-in-law; John Brown, and James McDonald. Visitation will be held on Saturday, January 25, 2020 from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM. A Celebratory Service starts at 7:00PM. Both will be held at Hillcrest Funeral Home, 1060 N Carolina Dr. El Paso, TX 79915 (915)598-3332.
