At 90 years of age, Emma Ramos passed away February 3, 2018 at Pikes Peak Hospice.
She was born May 7, 1927 to Manuel and Filomena Sarmiento, in Chandler, Colorado, a mining town that no longer exists. She and her sister Marina were on the championship Chandler girls’ softball club. This led to her lifetime love of baseball. Go Rockies! As a young girl she moved to Florence, Colorado and years later, with her husband Henry, she moved to Colorado Springs where she lived for the last 55 years.
Emma came from a large family and would tell fascinating stories about her 5 brothers -Dionisio, John, Lolo, Manuel, Rito – 3 sisters – Marina, Tomasita and Virginia – and her mother and father. Her eldest son Manuel remembers, “The stories involved playing cards with the devil, riding with the armies of Pancho Villa and pistol fights. They scared and fascinated us at the same time.”
She was a strong-willed woman with a deep and unconditional love for her husband and three sons, Manuel, Michael, and Richard and their families, and could laugh even in the most difficult times. Michael, the middle son, remembers, “She would try any remedy for whatever ailed us, like the root of the osha plant that had a memorable odor and burn!”
Emma was a great cook and homemaker, often saying she should open a restaurant. The closest she came was having a food booth with her mother at Pioneer Days in Florence. She cooked elaborate meals for the holidays, birthdays and just because. Best enchiladas, mashed potatoes, queso ever!
Emma was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2010. But she was a fighter, or as she liked to say, “a tough cookie.” Daily she did her very best to assuage the effects of this disease but in late August 2017, Emma transitioned to Namasté Alzheimer Center in Colorado Springs. Her youngest son Richard, her caretaker when she lived at home, remembers, “She thrived during her short time there, attended Catholic Church services and participated in Dance Exercise, Music Therapy, Bingo and more. Her smile was a ‘light’ to other residents and the staff.”
Emma Sarmiento Ramos will be missed by all.
Survivors include three sons, Manuel Ramos (Flo), Michael Ramos and Richard Ramos; three sisters, Marina Villegas (Louis+), Tomasita Ayala (Nick), and Virginia Herrera (Abel+); 6 grandchildren: Verlyn Maldonado (Manuel), Christopher Ramos, David Ramos, Diego Ramos, Renee Ramos, and Gabriel Young (Gidget); and 13 great grandchildren: Brianna Channon, Corinne Channon, Emanuel Maldonado, Nicolas Maldonado, Tiana Maldonado, Ava Ramos, Beau Ramos, Jaden Ramos, Mason Marshall, Nikko Ramos, Gabriel Young Jr., Grace Young, and Zach Young.
Visitation will be from 1:00 p.m. -2:00 p.m. with the funeral beginning at 2:00 p.m. Friday, February 9, 2018 at Shrine of Remembrance “America the Beautiful” Chapel, 1730 East Fountain Boulevard, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80910. Interment will follow at Evergreen Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you consider a contribution in Emma’s name to either:
Pikes Peak Hospice or Alzheimer Association of Colorado Springs.