Ekuah Tenaya "Ramsey" Ramsey-Gilbert

In Loving Memory of Ekuah Tenaya Ramsey-Gilbert

August 13, 1980 - July 10, 2025

Ekuah Ramsey-Gilbert was born and raised in Sacramento, CA. She attended Susan B. Anthony Elementary, Edward Kemble Elementary, James Rutter Middle School, and Florin High School (Class of 1998). Ekuah played volleyball and basketball at Florin High School, but her truest love was Basketball. She went on to play and excel in the sport at every level, from Foothill (Community) College and CSU Long Beach, to the Vrouwen Basketball League (Pro Women's Basketball, Netherlands), and a stint in the WNBA with the Detroit Shock. Ekuah was competitive and a force to be reckoned with, not just in athletics but in life. She was determined to achieve her goals, to take whatever she had and make it better, and to support others in doing the same. She was known around Sacramento and beyond as an educator, a basketball coach and eventually as an entrepreneur. She was a math teacher, school counselor, and administrator in Natomas Unified and Twin Rivers School Districts. From her roles as a mother, coach, educator and mentor to many youth over the decades, Ekuah developed a vested interest in the education of minority, underserved, and underrepresented students. She employed this wealth of knowledge and experience to found E.R.G. Consulting, training other educators and school districts in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Cultural Proficiency, Conflict Mediation and Restorative Practices. She led with a motto of "Educating with CARE" (Community, Affirmation, Reflection and Education). Amidst all of this, Ekuah never laid aside her love for basketball. She was also the Co-Founder and CIO of the non-profit organization "Elite Development Programs" where she supported youth in sport development and life discipline.

She will be remembered for all of these endeavors, as well as her love for music and singing, the depth of her generosity and hospitality, and the joyful, electric, and magnetic energy that she carried into every room.

She is preceded in death by her brother, Kevin Eugene King, and Grandmothers, Lattice Ola Ramsey and Gladis Owens. Ekuah leaves to cherish her memory her husband, Adam Lee Gilbert, Sr. and their children, Marina, Hassanah, and Adam, Jr. (AJ); her mother, Darlene Bean and sisters Laurene Clark and Latisha King; her father Stanley Ramsey, Sr. and siblings Florence Block and Stanley Ramsey, Jr.; Mother-in-Law Vernice Hodges (Cookie); many cherished aunts and uncles; several nieces and nephews whom she adored; dear cousins young and old; a precious goddaughter; colleagues, coaches, teammates, mentees, students and beloved friends.