Donna E Ramsey

10/10/1941 - 01/08/2022

Obituary For Donna E Ramsey

Services for Donna Ramsay will be held on Monday, January 17 at

Meade Memorial Episcopal Church 322 N. Alfred Street Alexandria, VA 22314

Visitation: 10:00 a.m. Funeral: 11:00 a.m.

Interment: Mt. Comfort Cemetery 1:00 p.m.

Donna Elaine Ramsey (née Epps), a retired librarian, passed away at her home on Saturday, January 8, 2022. She was 80.

Donna was born in Charlotte, NC to William A. Epps and Mabel P. Tatum. Elaine, as her closest friends and family called her, attended West Charlotte High School. As a young woman she gave birth to her first daughter, Gina. After some time had passed Elaine enrolled in classes at Johnson C. Smith University (‘69) and earned a bachelor’s degree in French. Donna then completed a master’s of library science at Clark Atlanta University (‘71).

Mrs. Ramsey launched her career at colleges in North Carolina before heading west to serve as a research librarian at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. On a weekend trip to El Paso, Texas, Elaine met and fell in love with Reginald, a soldier stationed at Fort Bliss. The two married in 1979. Their union produced two children, Ona and Reginald. Tragically, Mr. Ramsey passed away in 1985.

The majority of her career was spent in service to patrons of US Army libraries at Fort Bliss and Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Additionally, she served on committees at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Mrs. Ramsey was a loyal civil servant of the Department of the Army for over 30 years upon her retirement in 2016.

Librarianship gave Mrs. Ramsey the opportunity to travel the country. From Los Angeles to the nation’s capital, and from Seattle to Miami, she, her children, and her grandson, Devon, were familiar faces at the American Library Association’s (ALA) biannual conferences. Donna never felt like she was working because she was doing what she loved most: helping others, reading, and conducting research.

Service to others extended to her religious and civic life. Donna was a devout Christian and lifelong member of the Episcopal Church; she remained active in Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and the Links Association, Inc.; and she served in positions of influence in Black Caucus ALA and Blacks in Government, among other organizations. These organizations served as platforms for her charitable work with the homeless, the less fortunate, and the disadvantaged. Later in life she devoted her energy towards the care of her dearest aunt, Mrs. Anna Wilkins, a centenarian who lived in Charlotte.

A beloved personality, strong in character, and passionate for life, Donna’s absence will be felt by all who were graced by her presence.

Celebration of Donna’s life will coincide with the observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s contribution to the Civil Rights Movement Her Sorors will conduct an Omega Omega ceremony, which will be live streamed, in her honor on Sunday at 4 p.m. The following day there will be a viewing (10 a.m) and a service (11 a.m) at Meade Memorial Episcopal Church in Alexandria, VA. Interment will take place at Mount Comfort Cemetery. Please consider a donation in her name to Meade Memorial Episcopal Church.

Survivors include a daughter Ona and son, Reginald; three grandchildren, Devon, Tamirah, and Milla; a great grandson, Tavon; two brothers, Eddie and Robert, and sister, Linda; a brother-in-law, Bruce; a daughter-in-law, Katherine; and countless family and friends. She is preceded in death by her parents, husband, daughter Gina, and sisters Pam and June.

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