Ninfa Uribe Ramirez

Ninfa Uribe Ramirez “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.  No one can take them out of my hand.”  John 10:27 & 28. Mrs. Ninfa Uribe Ramírez, age 104 passed away peacefully December 7, 2019, at home surrounded by her family. Mrs. Ramírez was born in San Ygnacio, TX February 4, 1915, the daughter of Blas Maria Uribe and Petrita Garza de Uribe.  She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Amado Ramírez, her brothers Trinidad, Amador, Derly, Adelaido, and Blas Maria Uribe; and her sisters Corina U. de Uribe, Margarita U. de Ramírez, Francisca U. de Garza Flores, Delia, Maria Cristina, and Celia Uribe. She is survived by her sons Amado Ramírez Jr. (Minerva) and Victor Manuel Ramírez (Frances). Also, by her grandchildren Amado III (Kris), Ivan, Orlando (Ines), Eduardo, and Ernesto Alfredo Ramírez; Tanya N. Flores, and Andrea L. (James J.) King, nine great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews. Mrs. Ramírez attended public schools in San Ygnacio through fifth grade, and in Laredo from sixth grade through graduation from Laredo High School in 1933.  Returning to her native San Ygnacio, she taught for six years in the Zapata County Public School System.  In 1945 she married Amado Ramírez who passed on in 1960, and upon his death, she returned to college to complete the requirements for a degree in Education. While at Laredo Jr. College, she was initiated into Phi Beta Kappa Fraternity, a national honor fraternity, for “high moral character as well as scholarship”. At Texas A&I University, she was elected to membership in Cap and Gown, an honorary organization for senior women, for “signal intellectual achievement”. She received a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Texas A&I University in 1963 honored with a Summa Cum Laude Diploma. She taught for fifteen years in Buenos Aires School in Laredo.  While at Buenos Aires, she was selected to receive the highest honor that can be bestowed by the Texas PTA, The Texas Congress of Parents and Teachers, an Honorary Life Membership Award.  Also, Mrs. Ramírez was invited on two different occasions to appear in the publication Who’s Who in Texas Education.  Her second invitation noted the fact that “… a very small percentage (less than four percent) will be so honored …” The distinguished Freedoms Foundation School Awards Jury at Valley Forge, PA honored Mrs. Ramírez with the Valley Forge Teachers Medal Award before her retirement from Buenos Aires School.  The newspaper notice reads, “Colleagues, parents and fellow townspeople cited Mrs. Ramírez as a beloved and unusually inspiring teacher.”  The plaque accompanying the medal reads in part: “… for an outstanding accomplishment in helping to achieve a better understanding of the American Way of Life.” In 1996 Mrs. Ramírez was selected to receive the Heritage Foundation Award for her book “The Music, The Magic, And The Memories”.  This manuscript chronicled the history of the Uribe family from the Spanish colonial era to the present. Throughout her life, Mrs. Ramírez was a lover of books and learning.  Teaching was her passion.  She often remembered her students fondly and used to say, “The child is a diamond and it is the teacher’s duty to polish it.”  To fulfill her quest for knowledge and for pleasure, she visited countries in North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia between 1979 and 1989. Before coming to Laredo, she played the organ at Nuestra Señora del Refugio Catholic Church in her native San Ygnacio, and in Laredo became a member of the Catholic Daughters, Isabella the Catholic Chapter, from 1963 until her death. She left her earthly home after one hundred and four long and love-filled years. She instilled in us virtues such as respect, kindness, loyalty and determination. She will be long remembered for her tender, loving ways as a mother, grandmother, aunt, teacher and friend. The void she leaves in our heart will be filled with countless memories of her devotion to us, her family. Her sons are very grateful to her beloved physicians Dr. Jose R. Garcia and Dr. Pedro Diaz Santana, and to her loyal caregivers Gloria Galvez, Martina Ahumada, Gloria Delgado, and Vanessa Vasquez. Visitation will be held Wednesday, December 11, 2019 from 7:30 am to 10:30 am at the Hillside Funeral Home Chapel.  Afterwards, a mass will be celebrated at 11:00 am at St. Patrick Catholic Church. Interment will follow in the Mausoleum at the Calvary Catholic Cemetery.If you would like to sign the guestbook or send private condolences, you may do so at www.hillsidefuneral.com Arrangements are under the direction of Hillside Funeral Home, 310 Hillside Road.