Mary Lee Ramsay

Mary Lee Esplin Ramsay died peacefully on July 11, 2023 at age eighty-seven in the skilled nursing facility in Kanab, Utah. She was born December 4, 1935 in Cedar City, Utah to Fern and Annie Chamberlain Esplin. She was the eighth of nine children and grew up in Orderville, Utah. Summers for Mom and her siblings were spent at their beloved Duck Creek on Cedar Mountain where she rubbed shoulders with Hollywood stars as Grandpa worked on the many movies filmed there. She was very close to her brothers and sisters, especially Colleen, Farel, Ardath and her little sister, Jeannene. They were great support to her and the four sisters shared many fun times together.
In her youth Mom excelled in music. She played the clarinet and participated in many Solo and Ensemble competitions with Grandma as her accompanist. She was also a drum majorette in the Valley High marching band and graduated Valedictorian from Valley High School in 1954. Following graduation, Mom attended Henager's College in Salt Lake City and received a degree in business.
Mom started dating her sweetheart, Clare Merrill Ramsay, shortly before he was drafted into the army. After his return from the Korean War their romance resumed and they were married in the St. George Temple on April 12, 1956. Mom and Dad made their first home in Fredonia, Arizona where they were both employed at Whiting Brothers, she as a secretary and he a truck driver. They later moved to Cedar City where Dad started college at CSU. Their two oldest children, Jeannene and Martin, were born before they headed to Provo to finish Dad's education. Following his graduation from BYU in 1961, they accepted a teaching and coaching position at Bryce Valley High School in Tropic, Utah. Tropic became their lifelong home where two more children, Brenda and Wade, blessed their family.
Mom's greatest joy in life was her family. Because she never worked outside the home she was able to create a place where all of us felt loved, secure & cared for. She kept an immaculate home and was an amazing cook and baker. Mom was always a quiet, selfless support for us kids in all of our activities and for Dad through his coaching years and years as county commissioner. Mom adored her grandkids and they loved her. She was protective and fiercely proud of each one of them. For all of us there were many fun picnics, amazing family vacations, lots of yummy food and always holiday magic.
Mom was a devoted member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Her love for the Savior and her incredible faith carried her through adversity and brought great joy and comfort throughout her life. She served in numerous callings including the Relief Society and Young Women's presidencies and had various teaching positions. Mom played the piano beautifully and was the pianist in the Relief Society and Primary for many years. Because she so loved the sisters in the Tropic Ward, being a Visiting Teacher was her very favorite calling. She had wonderful neighbors and friends and she truly loved her little town of Tropic.
We would like to thank the health care providers who served so diligently to care for Mom over the last two and a half years. The staff at the Skilled Nursing Facility and those with Zion's Way Hospice were so attentive and patient with her and loving to her. She loved each of you and it meant the world to us as a family to have her in such good hands.
Mom was a loving wife, wonderful mother, grandma and a beautiful person inside and out. She was loved by many and will be missed by all. She is preceded in death by her husband, parents and all of her siblings. She is survived by her four children and their spouses, Jeannene (Vance) Pollock, Martin (Carla) Ramsay, Brenda (Dennis) Shakespear, Wade (Melanie) Ramsay, thirteen grandchildren, their spouses and twenty-three great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held Monday, July 17. 2023 at 1:00 PM in the Tropic Utah LDS Church, with a viewing from 11:00-12:30 PM. Burial will be in the Tropic Cemetery. Services were arranged with Mosdell Mortuary.
The zoom link for services
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85893166218?pwd=VXFFelI1NEJ1RmxJaUlaZ2RyOHhRQT09
Meeting ID: 858 9316 6218
Passcode: 424308