JOHN W. RAMER
The gates of Heaven opened widely to welcome John Willner Ramer on Saturday evening, February 8, 2020. After a hard fought battle, he passed peacefully at Fort Walton Beach Medical Center surrounded by his loving family who will miss him dearly.
John was born in Panama City, Florida on November 11, 1954 to Willner Lee “Duge” Ramer and Louisa Dethridge Ramer who we know were both awaiting his arrival with open arms.
John was a 1972 graduate of Rutherford High School. In his early years, he was an electrician by trade and worked on the original phase of Gulf Coast Medical Center. He worked at Alimenta (USA), Inc. from 1980 to 1994 and at Port Panama City from 1994 until his retirement in 2014. John was a past member of the Kiwanis Club of St. Andrews and actively worshipped at Emmaus United Methodist Church. As a cancer survivor himself, he was actively involved in many Relay for Life events in the community. In his spare time, he enjoyed attending all types of sporting events and he dearly loved his FSU Seminoles. He was a family man first and foremost and could always be relied upon to come up with a reason for his loved ones to “meet and eat.” He was the life of the party regardless of where he was. His corny sense of humor and infectious smile were two of his many endearing qualities. He was the eternal optimist who never allowed himself or anyone else to succumb to negativity.
He is survived by his loving wife of 43 years, Carolyn Hughes Ramer; daughters Melissa Butzke (Jessy) and Jennifer Barnes (Jay); grandchildren Kaylee Douglass (Eric), Brittani Butzke, Johnathan Butzke, Jude Barnes and McKenna Barnes; great grandson Kayden Douglass; sister Ann Bruner; brothers Ray Ramer (Cindi) and Leslie Ramer (Donna); as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, February 14th beginning at 2:00 p.m. in the chapel of Kent Forest Lawn Funeral Home with Pastor Jack Hankins of Emmaus United Methodist Church officiating. Interment will follow at Evergreen Memorial Gardens. Visitation will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 13, 2020 at Kent Forest Lawn Funeral Home. Asked to serve as active pall bearers are Jay Barnes, Jessy Butzke, Johnathan Butzke, Greg Burgans, Alex Burgans and Tony Bullock.
The family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the ICU staff at Fort Walton Beach Medical Center and to Doug Darnell with Cooper’s Drugs for the exceptional care and service.
Kent-Forest Lawn, 2403 Harrison Avenue, 763-4694
www.kentforestlawn.com
To send flowers
to the family or plant a tree
in memory of John Willner Ramer, please visit our floral store.