Ramon Medina Jr.

Ramon, known to various people over time as Junior, Ramon, Raymond, Ray, and his favorite names, dad and Grandpo. Always a very hardworking man, he became a tireless volunteer as part of the Knights of Columbus, especially following his retirement in 2007. His Catholic faith and his membership in the Knights of Columbus were both very important to him. Ramon never knew a stranger; nearly everyone he met became his friend. He could talk to anyone and never hesitated to approach people and strike up a conversation. Many looked forward to seeing and visiting with him at Tuesday night Knights of Columbus’ BINGO fundraiser, dubbing him their BINGO Angel.

Ramon was an avid Broncos fan, and was privileged to purchase season tickets from a friend for many years at both the original and the second Mile High Stadium, especially enjoying watching the Broncos’ march to back to back Super Bowl victories. He was a frequent visitor to Broncos Training Camp when they were in Greeley, and he patiently introduced and explained the game to his second wife.

Ramon loved spending time with family, especially his children and grandchildren. He loved traveling to spend time with his family in south Texas, especially at Easter each spring, often timed to coincide with visits with his sister Dora and family from California. He enjoyed roadtrips to Minnesota and North Dakota in the fall to visit with in-laws. He continued to be a treasured family member of the extended Trujillo family, visiting at family events and other times in both Las Animas and Greeley.

Ramon enjoyed camping, watching Westerns, action movies and a select few “mushy-mushy” movies (While You Were Sleeping and Kate & Leopold). He loved hanging out with our dogs and cats; although he proclaimed a dislike for cats, he lived with and protected many over the years, enjoying an especially close connection with a somewhat feral Siamese mix named Daisy, who would lay on his belly and chat with him. He enjoyed feeding, watching, and calling to birds, especially doves.

Ramon had a very green thumb, growing many successful gardens of primarily tomatoes and chilies and fruit trees. He brought trees from various places, including roadsides, his mother’s yard in Texas and grandfather-in-law’s farm in North Dakota, successfully planting and growing them at our home in Greeley. He would hold his breath each spring when a late snowstorm or hail storm would destroy fruit blossoms each spring, then rejoice when some survived and he proudly shared peaches, pears, apples and plums.

Ramon enjoyed collecting rocks, passing that passion on to his daughter and grandchildren. We often returned from roadtrips weighted down by large but unusual rocks, which were then incorporated into the yard landscaping. He injured his right eye as a toddler and was left with a large scar occluding his vision, having only peripheral vision remaining. His left eye more than made up for that loss, as he had better than 20/20 vision in that eye and could spot a dime on the side of the road a half mile away! (I swear!)

Ramon was the oldest of 11 children, born in Carrizo Springs, TX to Paulina (Rosa) and Ramon Medina, Sr. Spanish was his first language; he experienced discrimination in school, where children were punished for speaking Spanish to each other, even during recess. He had to leave school at a young age to work to help support his family, later completing his GED. Ramon and his family traveled and worked in the fields in Texas, Colorado, and Montana. By age 18, Ramon was working in Las Animas, CO where he met and married Betty Trujillo on 10/11/1965. They settled in Las Animas, where Ramon continued working in agriculture as a foreman. He helped some of his siblings and in-laws get jobs in Las Animas as well. He was always helping others, sharing food and money when his brother was injured and unable to work to support his family for awhile. While living in Las Animas, Ramon and Betty welcomed sons Curtis and Kevin, and daughter Erica. Ramon moved his family briefly to Greeley, then Brush, and ultimately Wiggins after accepting employment with CDOT, working out of the Wiggins maintenance yard for 14 years. Tragically, Ramon and his children lost Betty in a traffic accident on 10/8/1994. Ramon moved to Greeley in October 1996, accepting a maintenance position at the CDOT Greeley East yard. Prior to moving, Ramon was introduced to Linda Thompson through mutual friends, Bob & Rafaelita Luna. Ramon and Linda were married 2/28/1997 in Greeley.

Ramon is survived by an enormous family who all love him dearly, many of whom were able to spend precious time with him in his last few weeks. He is survived by his wife, Linda, children Curtis with wife Heather, Kevin, and Erica with husband Daniel Bertram. His grandchildren, Laysha (Tyler) O’Shields, Kellsi (Jon) Urquhart, Alex (Morgan) Campbell, Zabastian Medina, Angelis Medina, Isabelle (Totianna) Bertram, Danica Bertram, and Amaya Bertram. Great grandchildren Willow, Orrin, Riley, Noah, Sophie, Sawyer, Sander and Stryker. Siblings Leonor Ramirez, Lina Trevino, Jose David (Mandy) Medina, Maria (Art) Morrell, Dora (Guillermo) Chavez, Mario (Michelle) Medina, Rudy (Reyna) Medina, Norma (Cipriano) Sotelo, and Blanca Santoya, numerous nieces, nephews, and in-laws. He was preceded in death by his wife, Betty, his parents, and his brother Juan.

Visitation will be on Thursday, September 17, 2026 from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. at Stoddard Funeral Home, 3205 W. 28th Street in Greeley. A Funeral Mass will be held on Friday, September 18, 2026 at 9:30 a.m. at St. Peter's Catholic Church, 915 12th Street in Greeley. Ramon will be laid to rest at Hillside Cemetery in Fort Lupton.