Ramona Mapp

Ramona Hartley Mapp SUFFOLK - Dr. Ramona Hartley Mapp, formerly of Portsmouth, died Saturday, Jan. 9, 2011, in a Suffolk hospital. A native of Headland, Ala., she had lived in the Hampton Roads area since 1962, and lived in the Churchland area of Portsmouth from 1971 until she moved to Lake Prince Woods retirement community in 2009. Dr. Mapp had a diverse education. She attended public schools in Alabama and Florida and began her college education at the University of London, England. She also attended Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Ala., and Indiana University. She earned bachelor's and master's degrees in English from Old Dominion University, where she taught English for several years and helped found the Delta Sigma Lambda sorority. She earned a doctorate in education from Virginia Tech. She inspired students and faculty at Tidewater Community College's Portsmouth campus from 1971 to 1995, serving as professor of English, English Department chair, and chair of the Division of Humanities and Social Sciences. Dr. Mapp was active in numerous educational, civic, cultural, political and church organizations. She was president of the South Atlantic Association of Departments of English, of the Tidewater Child Care Center, of young Audiences of Virginia, and of the Friends of the Portsmouth Public Library. She chaired the Portsmouth Library board, was regent of the Fort Nelson chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and founded and headed the TLC (Tender Loving Care) Committee of Churchland Baptist Church, where she also taught Sunday and was a deacon. She was a member of the American Association of University Women, the Poetry Society of Virginia, and the Jamestown Society. She was named an Outstanding Tidewater Professional Women, received a Friend of the Arts Award, and was listed in Who's Who Among American Women. She loved Portsmouth and the Hampton Roads area, where she moved after living in various regions of the U.S. and in London, England. She co-authored Portsmouth: A Pictorial History with her husband of 39 years, Dr. Alf Johnson Mapp Jr., who survives her. She was a wonderful partner to him, as she was to her first husband, U.S. Air Force Col. Malcolm C. Hamby, who died in 1967. Dr. Mapp was predeceased by her parents, Smith Culp "Bud" Hartely and Annie Bess "Kit" Hartley of Tumbleton, Ala., and by siblings Erlene Dykes Culp, Herbert "Jake" Dykes, and Colin Dykes. She is survived by her sister, Sue Hartley Ward, of Headland, Ala. Dr. Mapp is also survived by her sons, Gregory Stuart Hamby (wife Linda Moon) of Kitty Hawk, N.C., and Geoffrey Alan Hamby (wife Pamela Thurman) of Falls Church, Va., and her stepsons, Alf Johnson Mapp III of Portsmouth. She is survived by granddaughter, Ramona Hamby Tyabut and husband Constantin Tyabut of St. Petersburg Russia and Kitty Hawk and grandsons, Christopher Malcolm Hamby and Nicholas Conner Hamby of Falls Church. Survivors also include step- granddaughters, Allison Adams Jones and Nicole Adams Geddie of Kitty Hawk and step-granddaughters, Katie Anne Ley and Rachel Lauren Ley of Falls Church. She is also survived by many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. The family would like to thank Dr. Mapp's aides and care givers: Helen Ratcliff, her longtime assistant; Denise Fortune of Senior Corp; her chef, Casey Hoxter; Katrina Britt, Melinda Eubanks, Stephanie Kazouris, Shantel Weathers, Lisa Scott, and Cheri Lane, all of Home Instead of Suffolk, which is co-owned and managed by Nell and Larry Neal. We would like to thank the Rev. Lawrence Coleman of Churchland Baptist Church, the Rev. Dr. Skip Irby of West End Baptist Church, and the Rev. Dr. Woodie Rea of Lake Prince Woods, as well as the Lake Prince Woods community. People may pay respects to Dr. Mapp by signing the Book of Remembrance at Sturtevant Funeral Home at Portsmouth Blvd., this afternoon and evening and all day Wednesday. Visitation with the family will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 13, at Churchland Baptist Church, 3031 Churchland Blvd., Chesapeake, followed by an 11 a.m. funeral in the church and burial at the church cemetery, conducted by the Rev. Lawrence Coleman. Donations may be made in Dr. Mapp's memory to Churchland Baptist Church, Young Audiences of Virginia, the Virginia Symphony, or the Friends of the Portsmouth Public Library, as well as to other nonprofit organizations.