Hermann Ramdohr

RAMDOHR, Hermann, 82, of Lanexa, Virginia, returned to the loving arms of his parents, Paul and Dorathea Ramdohr; and brother, Paul; on December 28, 2018, after a brief illness. Born and raised in Bergedorf, Germany, he spent his youth helping in his parents store, playing soccer and becoming a local boxing champion. His boxing career came to an end after meeting the love of his life, Elke Zessin, with whom he shared an amazing 60-year marriage. Their love story produced two devoted daughters, eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Moving his young family to the United States, first to Winston-Salem, N.C., and then settling in Richmond, Va., he and Elke became citizens and often proudly showed off the sights of his new country to their many visitors. He had an incredible 48-year career as a mechanical engineer with Hauni GmbH and later Hauni Richmond. His expertise and dedication was well known throughout the worldwide tobacco technologies industry, resulting in credit for several patents. Another 10 years were spent consulting for Schlatterer Esband, before he truly retired. He enjoyed golfing with his friends and coworkers, working for the Richmond Oktoberfest as a member of the Deutscher Sportsclub where he served as honorary president in 2017, his time spent with friends at the Sandston Moose Lodge and enjoying his Chickahominy paradise. Left to cherish his memory are his loving wife, Elke; devoted daughters, Sabine and Stefanie; son-in-law, Chris; grandchildren, Jason, Chris, Petra, Kirstin, Caitlyn, Ashley, Paul and Micki; great-grandchildren, Brandon, Cameryn, Nathaniel, Cydney, Ellorah, Dalton and Sawyer. He will also be dearly missed by his special sister-in-law, Marianne Zessin and family; nephew, Uwe Zessin; and a host of other family and friends. Services will be held Saturday, January 5, 2019, at 1 p.m. at Nelsen Funeral Home, 4650 South Laburnam Rd., Richmond, Va. 23231. Charitable donations in his memory may be made to the Alzheimers Society and American Cancer Society.