June M. Ramey

RAMEY, JUNE M.

Longtime Capitol Hill resident, on Wednesday, February 8, 2006, after a valiant struggle with Alzheimer's. June, who was predeceased by her husband of 52 years, Frank B. Ramey, died at home in San Francisco, where she moved 10 months ago to live with her daughter, Joanna. Born June Krenzer, January 1, 1920 in New Castle, IN, she was an air travel pioneer, along with her identical twin, Joanna Krenzer Brown, who died in 1995 in Washington, DC. They were among the first wave of female flight attendants in the 1940s. Before taking to the air, June and her twin, Joanna, briefly worked as secretaries in the U.S. Embassy in Managua, Nicaragua. June first flew for TACA Airlines, based in San Jose, Costa Rica. During that time she appeared in the October 1946 National Geographic in an article on Costa Rica. The photos were taken by the late, famed Geographic photographer, Luis Marden. June next joined Pan American with her sister and embarked on countless flights on propeller planes throughout the Far East and Latin America. On February 27, 1948, she helped to successfully evacuate a DC Clipper bound for Calcutta that crashed after take-off at San Francisco Airport. June lived on Capitol Hill with her husband for more than 20 years. After raising two daughters, June worked as an executive secretary at Tiffany & Co., New York City, then briefly in Congress. During her retirement in Washington, DC, she volunteered extensively, including with the National Gallery, Kennedy Center and National Cathedral. Survivors include her daughters Joanna Ramey Orchard of San Francisco and Brooke Ramey Nelson of Vienna, VA and two granddaughters, Chrissie Nelson and Katie Nelson. Services are pending. June's ashes will be interred with her husband's at Arlington National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in her name to the Institute on Aging, Swindell Center, 3600 Geary Blvd., San Francisco, CA 94118. Attn. Christine Roppo.