Ramona Jane Deitemeyer

Ramona Deitemeyer passed away on Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 2014 at the Holmes Lake Manor in Lincoln, Nebraska. Ramona was born on March 26, 1920 in Bancroft, Cuming County, Nebraska. She was the eldest daughter of Frank Allen Wood and Effie Marie (Carlberg) Wood of Bancroft, Nebraska. She had three sisters and a brother, Luella Mae (Wood) Marra, Francis A. Wood Sr., Gertrude (Wood) Tatum, and Marjorie (Wood ) Vogt. The family moved to their farm south of Rosalie, Nebraska in 1926. Ramona attended school in Rosalie and graduated from Rosalie High in 1937. She spent seven years in 4-H Club work in Thurston County winning many prizes as a member of demonstration teams and judging teams at the Nebraska State Fair and attended the National 4-H Convention in Chicago.

Ramona attended the University of Nebraska and met, Carl W. Deitemeyer, a graduate student in Agriculture . They were married on August 31, 1940. Carl and Ramona had five children, Diann (Mark Sorensen), Steven (Patricia Wakeman) Kaye (Russell Grant), Cheryl (Ed Greene) and Kent Deitemeyer (Khoo Seow Lin( Margaret). Carl’s early career as a County Agricultural Agent took them to Elwood, Gosper County, Nebraska and Tekamah, Burt County, Nebraska. The family moved to Lincoln by 1945 when Carl took a job as writer/editor at the”Nebraska Farmer”. Ramona always actively supported her children’s activities as the President of her PTA, as a Sunday school teacher, a 4-H and scouting leader. She and Carl were also chartering members of the new Christ Lutheran Church in Lincoln in 1949.

She was crowned Mrs. America 1956 after winning the state competition as Mrs. Nebraska in McCook. The national competition was held in Daytona Beach, Florida where she won preliminary contests for best housekeeping and best dinner menu before being crowned the overall winner and the Mrs. America crown. Ramona hosted a live TV show for KOLN-TV in Lincoln called “Right Around Home”. The show was extremely popular and viewed daily in over 200,000 homes in the southeastern Nebraska viewing area. After career changes the family moved to Boulder, Colorado where Ramona worked for Channel 7 TV in Denver and then managed the Elkhorn Lodge in Estes Park, Colorado. Carl continued to work in the agricultural industry in Colorado, before being asked to join Nebraska 1st District Congressman Clair Callan in Washington D.C. as Administrative Assistant. After seeing all of her family graduate from college, Ramona joined Carl in Washington D.C. and worked initially for the American Finance Conference. She worked as a case worker and staff for Nebraska 1st District Congressman Charles Thone in Washington DC and Congressman Douglas Bereuter in Washington DC and in his Lincoln District Office until her retirement in 1995.

Ramona is survived by all of her five children, 14 grandchildren, 2 step grandchildren, 13 great grandchildren, and 8 step great grandchildren.