Ramona Ward Fite

Ramona Ward Fite died just after midnight on Nov. 17, 2025, at a hospice facility in Pueblo, Colorado. She was born on March 11, 1950, in Fort Worth, Texas, to Col. Calvin W. Fite and Ramona Spurlock Fite. As a USAF “brat,” Ramona spent her childhood moving from place to place. The family lived in England, Virginia, Florida, New York, Maryland and Ohio. Ramona earned her BA from the University of Colorado at Greeley, where she fell in love with the wide open spaces, married her Colorado sweetheart, Pedro Gutierrez, and gave birth to their beloved son, Julian, who died a few years ago. After Ramona and Julian moved to Nashville, Tennessee, she worked for the public library and then on her dad’s post-retirement business, the Bellevue Valley Golf Driving Range, a real “Tin Cup” enterprise, where Ramona exerted her lively personality and remarkable spirit. A memorial service will be held from 12-3 PM on December 6, 2025 at the Gardner Community Center.

And Ramona was a free spirit; she naturally inclined toward the “hippie” lifestyle and welcomed all kinds of people into her world. She loved animals and always had a dog, or two, or three. She appreciated beauty in many forms – flowers, costume jewelry, fabrics, and especially the sky as seen over Nashville or from her funky hill-house in Gardner, Colo. Ramona adored music of all kinds. She would drive around (very slowly, to the annoyance of those behind her) with her CD player blasting out the tunes, from Grateful Dead to Kendrick Lamar and everything in between. She loved the live music scene of Nashville, and she was a regular at the Springwater sit-ins and at Jimbo Reese’s house jams. Ramona was also a talented and unique artist, whose primary subjects were flora and fauna and, of course, those dramatic skies.

Ramona was predeceased by her parents, her son, and a sister, Carol Fite Mothershead. She is survived by her sisters Linda Fite of Kerhonkson, N.Y., and Ellen Fite of Memphis, Tenn., along with five nieces and nephews and a bunch of paternal and maternal cousins, whom she loved. Her friends in Colorado hope to hold a memorial gathering at some point, and her family plans to celebrate her life and bright spirit next summer, when they’re all together at one of Ramona’s favorite places, Bethany Beach, Delaware. Donations in Ramona’s memory may be made to the animal support charity of your choice.