Louellen "Lolly" Ramey

Louellen (Lolly) Ramey, born February 28, 1949, passed away peacefully on the morning of October 7th, after a brave and arduous battle with cancer. Lolly is survived by her brother, William S. Ramey, Jr. (Nashville, TN), a sister, Nancbeth Ramey (Liz), three nieces, Grace (Indianapolis), Emily J. Ramey (Nashville, TN), Ellen R. Miller (Nashville), TN, and her nephew, William S. Ramey, III. Lolly had two dogs, Hoffie, an eight year-old German Shepherd, and Freida, a three year-old wire-haired dachshund, that were the most important loves of her life. She trained them at First Friends K-9 in Fishers, Indiana since they were puppies and brought them there almost every Wednesday evening. In the last year, she couldn’t make the training as much because the chemotherapy made her so sick. She hated not being able to go because First Friends had become her favorite place, mostly because everyone there understands the passion and deep love and connection people have with their dogs. One of Lolly’s other passions was music. As a little girl of five, Lolly began piano lessons and participated in choirs and performances throughout elementary, junior-high, and high school. She was a member of Girls’ Ensemble for the three years she attended North Central High School, and continued her studies of voice and piano at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She received a Bachelor’s of Music Performance after completing her senior recital in which she was the first and only student at MU to ever perform a solo recital comprised of half vocal and half piano. After graduation, she returned to Indianapolis to work in the insurance industry for a time, and then was offered a position as John Nelson’s personal assistant at the Indianapolis symphony Orchestra. There she wore many hats, one being the hospitality guide for the artists when they arrived in Indianapolis. She also helped Maestro Nelson organize music, plan social events, answer questions for the orchestral musicians and assist stage managers during performances. After seven years at the ISO, she entered the real estate industry working first with F.C. Tucker, and after trying a few other firms through the years, returned to Tucker after realizing that was the best fit for her. She made many close friends not only in that firm, but also through transactions connected with Tucker. About twenty-five years ago, Lolly began studying the Bible with Bible Study Fellowship. She “graduated” from BSF after completing what was then, a seven year program. After a few years of going back through some of those studies, she became a leader and facilitated the small groups for about ten years. The friends she made through BSF became her closest and dearest friends in her latter years, and who came to see her, pray with her, and support her through the last and most difficult few months. After many years of singing with Tabernacle Presbyterian Church’s choir, she decided to re-join the church in which she was raised. As a seventh grader, she and her siblings left Tab to go to Second Presbyterian Church, but after many years, she felt that Tab was really her home. She spoke many times in this last year of the wonderful and loving people at Tab who had welcomed her, included her, and loved her like she had never before felt in a church. Tab and the choir became one of the three most important things in her life. She felt a deep love for the people, the church, the choir, and especially Matt Kauffman, the choir director. Lolly also found a talent in radio work about twenty years ago when she volunteered at WFYI, Indianapolis. After the fund drive, she inquired about working as an announcer which led to her working several shifts a week. Over the years, she developed and produced her own show by the name of Classics by Request which aired every week for over ten years. Over five-hundred shows later, people continue to call, email, and listen to her show in hopes she will honor their requests.