James Ramsey

SMITHFIELD – On Oct. 10, 2020, James Ramsey died peacefully, at age 73, at home looking out on the blazing autumn foliage of trees and gardens he had planted decades earlier and loved deeply.

Born in Wilmington, Ohio in 1946, Jim grew up in the college town of Oxford, Ohio, where he enjoyed playing baseball, basketball and football, spending time in nature, and going to Cincinnati Reds and Royals games. He started college at Miami University in Oxford and graduated from University of Dayton, where he studied English, religion, and education. On Feb. 6, 1970 he married Elisabeth de Saint Rat. They were married for 50 years, both teaching and raising son Ian and daughter Caitlin, who are also teachers in the family tradition.

In 1971, Jim and Liz moved to Maine and soon afterward Jim started teaching at Skowhegan Junior High, where he would work for the next four decades. Jim was a transformational educator, working for the bulk of his career as the teacher and director of SAD 54’s Gifted & Talented program. Jim was known as someone who cared enormously, and many of his students consider him to be the best teacher they ever had. In 1972, he and Liz bought a 40 acre property in Smithfield and they spent the next decades working on the house, building extensive gardens and orchards, and sustainably managing the forest and hayfields.

Jim was a successful coach across three decades, coaching soccer, softball and basketball. Noticing the lack of basketball opportunities for girls at the junior high, he started a girls basketball team in 1971 eventually coaching the Skowhegan HS girls basketball team to the Class A state finals in 1979.

Despite never boarding a plane until he was nearly 40, Jim became an accomplished traveler during the second half of his life, leading countless trips to the former USSR (including a ground-breaking peace delegation in 1986), England, Scotland, Ireland and Italy. A dedicated Quaker, Jim was a member of the East Vassalboro Friends meeting for nearly 40 years, serving as clerk and on other committees.

During his last decade, Jim wrote a series of memoirs, including “The Eclectic Odyssey of an Eccentric Old Man” and “Ramsey, Family, and Friends Back in the USSR.” Jim deeply loved Maine, particularly Moosehead lake, Georgetown, the Kennebec River, and most of all the 40 acres that he cared for with his family. He was passionate about local agriculture and never missed the Common Ground Fair.

Jim is survived by wife Liz Ramsey; children Ian (Heidi) Ramsey and Caitlin (Tim) Ramsey; his sister Rebecca Schweller; and nephew Zach Ramsey. He is also survived by hundreds of students, players, campers, travelers, fellow Quakers, and colleagues who carry his spirit inside.

A celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, Oct. 22 at 1 p.m. at the Friends Meeting House in East Vassalboro.