Beatriz Helena Ramirez

Maybe her smile came from the deep connection she had with her homeland, Colombia, which, according to Beatriz, was the most beautiful country in the world where the best Spanish in the world was spoken. It was in Colombia that Beatriz learned the importance of family. She grew up in the Envigado and Laureles Las Acacias neighborhoods of Medellin surrounded by family in the home she shared with her mother Maria Isabel Molina (lovingly nicknamed Abuelita by Beatriz’s children and all her friends and “Tita Babel” by the grandkids), two aunts (Tulia “La Gorda” and Carmen “Mela”), her brother Alvaro “Pinguino”, and her cousin Henry “Calocho”. Just down the road from her family home lived a young man who would look out his window every morning admiringly and watch her walk to school. This handsome young man, Manuel Antonio Ramirez, would later become her husband. At her school “Colegio Inmaculada Auxiliadora”, Beatriz excelled in both her courses and athletics. Her love of sport led her to star on the school basketball team and ingrained in her a passion for futbol. She was a devoted fan of her local futbol team Atletico National and of course Los Cafeteros. A quick check of her sent folder from her email account would definitely confirm this as it is filled with online articles about James Rodriguez, Falcao, and many more figures in the Colombian National Team. Her love of science led her to enroll at “Colegio Mayor de Cultura Femenina de Antioquia” in 1964 and earn a degree in Bacteriologia in 1966. This allowed her to embark on a medical career working in several different clinics until her retirement in 2015.

Another important event in 1966 was her marriage to Manuel, the handsome young man from down the street who was now an aspiring young doctor. In 1969 Manuel’s medical career would take Beatriz to the states where she would learn English, become a citizen, and reside for the remaining 47 years of her life. Although she loved her adopted country, her heart always belonged to her first love, Colombia.

Maybe her smile came from the joy and companionship she found in being with her friends. Even when she first moved to the US and lived in Detroit where she was surrounded by foreign sights, sounds, and customs and spoke no English, she found a way to make long lasting friendships. In 1981 when she finally settled in Pasadena with her young family she had a growing group of people who would consider themselves lucky to call her their friend. In the 90’s when she became the office manager of a pediatric clinic she was a strict no-nonsense task master who affectionately earned the nickname “Hitler” yet the same medical staff who gave her that moniker were also glad to call her friend. Many of these friends would turn out to be her cruising partners. Beatriz was the kind of friend that everyone wants to have and aspires to be. She was outgoing, social, and loyal. She was extremely generous, thought of others first, and sacrificed her own comfort for the sake of others. She was also the life of the party. If you needed to find a Colombian doctor in Pasadena on a Friday night then all you needed to do was find Beatriz because more likely than not the doctor you were looking for would be with his family at the same party that Beatriz was at with her family, where she would be sipping on rum and coke or dancing to a cumbia and of course she would be smiling.

Maybe her smile came from the love and pride she had in her children and grandchildren. That love began in Medellin in 1967 when she gave birth to an extremely charismatic, beautiful, happy bundle of energy with no eyebrows, who loved to whistle at 6 months of age, that she and Manuel named Diego Alberto. That love doubled in Detroit in 1972 when she gave birth to a beautiful force of strong, rebellious will that she and Manuel named Cristina. From the moment her children were born Beatriz’s primary goal in life was to take care of them. She stayed at home to care for her babies who were growing fast and fiercely until Tina started school. When in the middle of Diego’s 7th grade year, the family moved from Texas City to Pasadena, she drove the children over an hour to Texas City so Diego would not have to change schools in those difficult junior high years. When Diego left home at 27 years of age, if one could only see her face... you would think that she had lost everything.

Nothing brought her more joy than to be together with her two children, and she especially loved to travel with them. Whether it was to their beach house in Galveston or exotic locals in Europe, Beatriz wanted to share the world with her children. She shared many adventures with them taking them to the exotic locales of Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, Alaska, South America and the Middle East. Her favorite way to travel was on a cruise where she could enjoy the comfort and entertainment of the ship (especially at art auctions) as well as the unique offerings provided at each port of call. Everywhere she traveled she always picked up multiple trinkets (both for herself, all of her friends and family) as a reminder of the lovely places she had been and over the years she amassed quite a collection.

Beatriz found a new source of happiness with the birth of her grandchildren, Eduardo, Sebastian, and Adrian. She would do anything for them and spoiled them like no other grandmother. She had a special room setup for them at her house. The two youngest boys, Sebastian and Adrian, loved to spend weekends there at “Tita Tiz’s finca” where she would make them anything they wanted for breakfast like arepa con queso, huevitos, costillitas (fully barbequed short ribs on the grill at 7am), shrimp cocktail (one of Adrian’s favorite), popsicles, cookies, etc… and this was all in one sitting! Her grandsons gave her yet another reason to smile.

Monday, February 6, 2017, at approximately 4:20PM Beatriz left her earthly body at her home of 36 years in Pasadena, Texas, surrounded by family and friends. For the last few days of her life she smiled in her sleep. She slept the entire time while making soothing sounds as if dreaming with the Angels. It was a beautiful and peaceful passing. Now she is in a place even more beautiful than Colombia – she is in the presence of the Father with Abuelita, Alvaro, Manuel, and Julius (her special cat) to join her in everlasting peace. We are sure that her smile is bigger and more beautiful than ever.

Please join us in celebrating Beatriz’s life on Saturday, February 25th, beginning with a funeral rites service (not a full mass) at 2:00 PM at St. Pius V church at 824 Main St, Pasadena, TX 77506. Directly after the service the inurnment (placing of the ashes in the cemetery) will take place at 3:00 PM at Grand View Memorial Park at 8501 Spencer Hwy, Pasadena, TX 77505. Deacon Julio Matallana will be present to say a few words.

For those that want to send flowers, please instead send a donation to St. Jude for cancer research:

https://www.stjude.org/donate-now