Mr. Andrew William Ramos

ANDREW WILLIAM RAMOS, 26, of Atascadero, died Wednesday, April 15, 2009, at Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton, California. Private family services will be held at the Chapel of the Roses in Atascadero on Friday, April 24, 2009, followed by a public Memorial Service beginning at 12:30 pm at Atascadero Lake Park on Alvord Baseball Field. A potluck lunch will follow in the park. Comments on this paper’s online guestbook under Andrew’s obituary are invited. Andrew was born January 6, 1983, in Templeton and grew up in Atascadero, where he attended Santa Rosa Elementary School, Atascadero Junior High and Atascadero High, graduating with the Class of 2001. He attended Cuesta College, majoring in Journalism, and was a Staff Reporter and Sports Editor of the Cuestonian newspaper for two years. He advanced to a job with the Tribune and worked as a Sports Staff Writer from October 2002 to May 2003 before deciding to work full-time with his father in the family construction business. Andrew grew up with a love of sports that encompassed many years of youth activities including soccer, baseball and basketball. He played many extended seasons on All-Star teams and made many lifelong friends. One of his favorite moments was winning the 12-year-old Tournament of Stars championship game in which he pitched and his best friend, Abe Vaca, was catcher. Babe Ruth Baseball provided many countless opportunities to live in the baseball world of excitement, comraderie and competition with his teammates at Alvord Field at Atascadero Lake Park. In high school, Andrew was a three-sport athlete, competing for the first time in Football and Wrestling, and then Baseball as a Freshman. In his Sophomore year, he resumed Soccer while continuing to play football and baseball. He received the JV football team’s Ken Mauer MVP Award, named for his beloved uncle and coach, and was named Most Inspirational in Baseball. In the ensuing years he was often selected as the current team’s Most Inspirational Athlete for the spark of encouragement and work ethic he provide to every team, every season, and every moment of his sports career. He suffered a broken leg in his last high school CIF playoff football game and that injury prevented him from competing in his senior seasons of soccer and baseball. Instead, Andrew immersed himself in the role of Sports Editor for the high school’s Hilltop News, writing features on many exciting athletes, coaches and teams, a tradition he continued in college and his brief career with the Tribune. Having grown up reading the local sports pages and sports magazines, Andrew had an appreciation for all sports contests and covered them from a players’ point of view. At the end of his Senior year of high school, Andrew was honored at the Top 30 Seniors Banquet and also the Scholarship Awards Night in which he received awards from the Knight-Ridder Newspaper and the Dave Hamilton Memorial Scholarship. Andrew was an incredible person off the field as well. He always aspired to be the hardest worker on the job site and was always ready to lend a hand for any job for his family and friends. He was everyone’s favorite son, brother, cousin, nephew and grandson. Andrew was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents, Donald and Mary Curtis, paternal grandfather Leslie Ramos, great-grandparents Granville and Berniece Andersen and Gerald and Mary Ramos, uncles Ken Mauer and Gary Ramos and an aunt, Rollynn Ramos. Andrew was the beloved son of William Ramos of Atascadero and Kathleen Curtis-Ramos and her fiancee, Lee Ames of Los Osos. He was the best friend and cherished brother of Jayne, Rebecca, Russell, Sean and Cody Ramos and Taylor Ames. His is also survived by grandmother Dorothy Cardoza and her companion Manuel Oliveira, along with a very large extended family and many cherished friends. The family requests in lieu of flowers, donations be made in memory of Andrew to the Atascadero Greyhound Athletic Foundation, PO Box 3120, Atascadero, CA 93423, or any youth sports organization of your choice. Arrangements are by the Chapel of the Roses in Atascadero.