Thelma Ramsburg

Thelma H. Ramsburg went to sleep after enjoying her dinner on Friday, April 24th.  When she opened her eyes, she found she was in the arms of Jesus.  It was a simple but beautiful death.  A death very much the way she had lived, simple and beautiful.
She was born in 1936 on the family farm on Holter Road outside Middletown.  She was born at home.  The Huffer home had been quarantined due to whooping cough, so a hospital birth was not an option.  She was the 5th of 6 children born to Josephus and Margaret Beachley Huffer.  Even though the name given to her at birth was Thelma Jean Huffer, her father said, “Let’s call her Tootie!” Tootie grew up on the farm where her primary job was gathering the eggs and assisting her mother in the house.  She noticed that her father never stopped working and that there were always chores that needed to be done on the farm. For these reasons, she was determined to never marry a farmer, and she wanted to have four boys!
She graduated from Middletown High School and went on to attend nurses training at Union Memorial School of Nursing. It was during that time that her brother Donald had taken her along to a square dance one weekend.  A young man saw her from across the dance floor and decided right then and there that the beautiful brunette was going to be his wife.  Even though she allowed him to give her a ride home that evening, it took Mehrle H. Ramsburg, Jr. three years to convince Thelma she was meant to be his wife.
They married on August 23, 1958, and they farmed on Ramsburg Road in Utica where they milked cows and raised four daughters. This was not exactly what Thelma had planned, but there was contentment in where God had placed her.  She gave up her nursing career to care for her children and the livestock on the farm.  She was the ultimate calf feeder.  You could have called her a “calf whisperer”. She made sure each calf received its golden colostrum for its first meal, and she knew exactly when one needed a dose of electrolytes. It was rare for her to lose one of her precious four-legged babies.
Mehrle and Thelma where married for 38,873 days. Mehrle’s death in early January 2020 left Thelma alone for only 83 days. They were truly a team. They farmed together, they raised their family together, they worshiped together, they danced together, and they laughed together.  By God’s grace, they were admitted to Homewood within days of each one needing full-time nursing care.  They occupied the “Honeymoon Suite”.  Thelma, the constant caregiver, could be seen opening Mehrle’s milk, cutting his meat, and fixing his napkin at mealtimes.  It was because of Thelma’s nursing skills and care that Mehrle was able to stay at home on the farm due despite his many health issues. He was in the hospital for one month when he lost his right arm in a farming accident. Thelma stayed by his side for the entire month, never leaving the hospital.  She taught her family how to have a servant’s heart through her many loving and selfless actions.
She served quietly in her community.  She was the one sitting in the back of the firehall at church suppers patting oysters for Glade United Church of Christ, or she was baking for a bake sale held by the Lewistown Homemakers.
To mourn her loss, she leaves behind two daughters, Virginia (Ginny) Crist and husband Roger, and Mary Jane Roop and husband Sam.  Her beloved grandchildren, Julie Roop Tingue and husband Eric of Delevan, NY, Lauren Roop Berkhouse and husband Jordan of Tulsa, OK, Whitney Crist Blickenstaff and husband Ryan of Myersville, and M. Jacob Roop and wife Sarah of Wheaton, IL.  She cherished her visits with her four precious great-grandchildren:  Bailey Tingue, Lucy Roop, and Gabriel and Chasen Blickenstaff.  She was predeceased in death by two daughters, Barbara Jean Ramsburg and Judy Louise Ramsburg.  She was also predeceased by an infant grandson, David Crist. She had experienced great loss in her lifetime, but that made her hold her remaining family that much tighter and love them that more deeply.
Other surviving family members who will grieve her loss are sisters, Dorothy Huffer Plumer and Josephine Huffer Remsberg, and brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Bill and Ruth Ramsburg Falconer.  Other immediate family members that have passed before her are Donald and Greta Huffer, Julian and Edna Mae Oliver, Jim and Louise Stup, Lou Plumer, Leon Remsberg, and Richard and Sarah Ramsburg Holter.
Thelma was born during a quarantine and died during a quarantine. It seems appropriate to request that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to those fighting on the front lines in this pandemic.  The family will be forever grateful for the loving care Mehrle and Thelma received at Homewood at Frederick.  They would like to honor those dedicated selfless employees.  < https://homewood.com/foundation/make-gift-today > (Co-worker Appreciation Fund) 7407 Willow Rd, Frederick, MD 21702.