Samuel Ramos Sr.

Samuel Ramos was born on March 14, 1946, in San Jacinto, Pangasinan, Philippines to his parents, Lucio and Milagros Calimlim Ramos. He finished his early education at San Jacinto Elementary School and graduated High School at San Jacinto Catholic School in 1962. He enrolled at Philippine Union College in 1963. During the school year, he worked at the grounds department to help finance his schooling. Professor Edwards appointed him to delegate all the duties to the students working on the grounds. After completing his assigned work for the day, he often would help other students that were still struggling to finish the required tasks. The following year, he transferred to FEU (Far Eastern University) and graduated in 1968 with a Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology. After his graduation, he was employed at Benguet Exploration Inc. Clinic, Camp 6, Baguio City, Philippines.

In February 1970, he migrated to Canada where he met his future wife, Elizabeth Daluyen in a blind date arranged by their late godmother, Mrs. Priscilla Alejandro. She prepared a delicious meal at her house and invited both for lunch. For Sam, it was love at first sight. He knew that this was the woman that he would marry. They were married on November 15, 1970 and were blessed with two sons – S. James Ramos Jr. (who was married to Erika Scheidel Ramos for 15 years until his death in 2016) and Jeremy Ramos.

Samuel worked as a medical technologist at Dr. Joseph O. Ruddy Hospital in Whitby, Ontario, Canada. He and his wife migrated to the USA in late 1972. After passing the medical technology board exam, he was employed at the Medical Lab Services and later at Chapman Hospital in Orange, California from early 1973-1979. In 1979, the family moved to Redlands, so their sons could readily access a Christian education. Being unable to find work in the Loma Linda area, Sam continued to commute to Orange, CA. In August 1987, he started working at Loma Linda Community Hospital, now called Loma Linda Medical Center East Campus after acquisition by Loma Linda University Health. He worked at this institution for more than 34 years. Sam was a loyal and dedicated employee. He loved his work and always strove for excellence. He was very patient, kind, loving and generous. All his life, he worked very hard, not only to support his own family and provide a Christian education to his children, but also to willingly assist his extended family in their financial needs, donate funds to assist various churches in their numerous projects and generously support other people that needed assistance in their daily living.

Sam was also a loving, dedicated father. He loved his boys and was a vital part in their upbringing. On his off days he would take them to the park and teach them how to fish. He also involved them in church activities through Pathfinders, church camping and outings. He taught the children how to drive without utilizing any formal driving instructor. Most importantly, he took the children with them on vacations even when they were small because he loved spending time with them, and he was overjoyed seeing them have fun in the places they visited. Even when his children were already grown-up and not with him, he loved them so much and thought of them often.

One thing Sam and his wife Elizabeth loved to do was to travel with their children to see the different wonders of the world. Not only was it a joy to spend quality time together, but it was also in their numerous travels that they saw the loving hand of God working to give Sam light, healing and life. Here are a few incidents from Sam’s life that show a bit of how Sam experienced God’s faithfulness, mercy, grace, love and miraculous healings from childhood until his passing.

1. During his early childhood, he nearly drowned, but was saved by a fisherman.

2. In May 1962, he had cholera and almost died. He was transferred, using the mayor’s car, to Dagupan Provincial Hospital for treatment, and his life was spared.

3. In 1971, he had stomach bleeding. He had emergency surgery at Dr. Joseph O. Ruddy Hospital and the bleeding was contained.

4. In March 2009, he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure with 10% ejection fraction. With God’s help, he recovered after only one year and was able to go back to work.

5. In April 2018, after starting to work on the night shift, he developed left-sided paralysis. He was unable to move, but since he did not lose consciousness, he was able to reach for a phone and call for help. He was immediately transferred to Loma Linda Medical Center and directly brought to radiology for a brain scan, where they diagnosed that he had a stroke. Throughout this ordeal and uncertainty, his wife was in the parking lot crying and pleading with God to heal her husband one more time. God answered her prayers. When Sam came out of the brain scan, he was able to move his extremities, and was progressively able to walk with assistance. No blood clots or bleeding were found. No medications were given to him, and he was discharged from the hospital after 16 hours observation. After 3 months of rehabilitation, he went back to work full time with no residual effects.

6. In February 2019, he passed out twice inside the NLAC (Northern Luzon Adventist College) auditorium during Sabbath services. He was taken to the NLAC Emergency Hospital via stretcher for checkup, but he got out of bed before the emergency doctor could examine him. Then he walked to the hospital lab and checked their laboratory instruments. Since he recovered, he and his wife went back to the auditorium to listen to the sermon. They sat down, and not even five minutes later, his wife saw him slowly sliding out of the chair. However, there seemed to be a gentle hand guiding him during the slide so that he did not injure himself and fall. He again passed out on the floor but slowly regained consciousness without any injury.

7. In March 2019, Sam and his wife were traveling in China. He had an accident and sustained an inch laceration below his eyes that started to bleed profusely. They were on their way to ride the bullet train to visit another province when this happened, so the authorities told them to take Sam to the hospital. They were strangers in a foreign land, did not speak or understand the language, and they were not familiar with the medical resources that were available in the area. They prayed to God to heal his wound, then Elizabeth told the authorities that she is a registered nurse and can take care of Sam. God answered their prayers. The profuse bleeding stopped, and no visible scar was seen on his face.

8. On November 14, 2019, they were at the top of Machu Pichu in Peru. Sam passed out again after they sat down on top of a huge rock. Due to the high altitude, the oxygen content in the air was low, but Elizabeth was impressed to bring the blood pressure apparatus and some nutritional supplements prior to their ascent. When Sam passed out, Elizabeth was able to revive him with the nutrients she brought and then further monitor his recovery with her blood pressure equipment. With God’s healing again, he recovered, and they were able to continue their trip and celebrate their 49th anniversary at Lima, Peru. God was very merciful because Sam was able to see his dream come true and fulfill his bucket list.

9. Sam’s other dream was to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in Hawaii. The United States was in total lock down, but in early November 2020, Kawaii opened with lesser restrictions. It was difficult to travel at that time with numerous restrictions and pat downs, and Sam did have some health issues with his heart. The TSA officer told Sam that he is now too old to travel, because he was using a lot of gadgets to support his body. It was a miracle that despite his limitations, they still made it to Hawaii. That was Sam and Elizabeth’s last travel together.

Sam got sick on April 21, 2021 with congestive heart failure with an ejection fraction of 15%. He developed many complications and his strength slowly ebbed away. He was hospitalized from October 1, 2021 (mostly in the Intensive Care Unit) until he passed away on January 22, 2022.

We thank God for His many blessings and for giving Sam and Elizabeth 51 years of life together. They celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary at the Loma Linda Medical Center, while he was hospitalized. Sam had one more wish – to be discharged from the hospital and go home to be with his wife, but that did not happen. We do not know the answer now, but someday God will make it plain to us.

Proverbs 3: 5-6 – “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.”

We’d like to thank you, Sam, for your sacrifice, devotion, generosity and a life of hard work and dedication. We love you and miss you. See you in the resurrection morning!