Margery Carroll Ramsdell

Margery Carroll Ramsdell was born October 30th 1922 as Margery Jean Carroll in Kelso, Washington. She lived a full and spectacular life and although she will be profoundly missed by family and friends, we are comforted in knowing she has found her next great adventure alongside many that have gone before her including her husband Guy and three of her four children, Frank, Nancy, and Kathy. Margerys journey is one to be remembered and one that will forever inspire many of us. Meeting her husband Guy at a young age and marrying at 16, she learned how to love very young. They were married for 34 years before she was widowed. She loved to tell stories of their life together and would always say marriage is a lot of give and take, but mostly give. She followed this piece of advice in every area of her life. While together, their family grew to include four children and with Guys insistence and encouragement when all the children were in school, Margery received her GED and was accepted to the University of Oregon where she earned her Bachelors and Masters degrees in teaching elementary education. As she attended school, her ultimate goal was to teach in the school she had attended in Kelso as a child. Her first and only teaching assignment was at Wallace Elementary School in Kelso, hired by a Principal who had been her sixth grade teacher. After teaching for many years at Wallace, she retired and joined the Peace Corps where her passion for travel and teaching gave her the opportunity to teach in a small village in Liberia. This experience opened a new pathway and after returning home for just a short time, she applied and was accepted into missionary service and assigned to Bangladesh teaching adults how to be a teacher. When her time in Bangladesh was over, she continued to travel wherever and whenever she could, continuing to learn and experience new things. Margery kept many journals, photos, and scrapbooks recounting her experiences and she never ran out of stories to tell about her travels and experiences. Even after her days of exploring were over, Margery kept very busy as an avid member of the Kelso First Baptist Church and then after moving to Tacoma, Washington, Grace Baptist Church. She was a dedicated volunteer, working at food banks, making quilts for children in distress, knitting hats for newborn babies, and making pillowcase dresses for little girls in Haiti. She always had a project she was interested in that would help others and her days were filled with hobbies and enjoyment. Margery was an amazing mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and a loyal friend. She did so much with the time she was given. She is survived by a daughter, Carroll Ferguson, son-in-law Bill Ferguson, eleven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. All our lives will be a little empty without her vivacious spirit, but she left a legacy of how to live our lives to the fullest and be a comfort to others. The family requests that if you want to send an honorarium for Margery please do so to: Grace Baptist Church 2507 N Vassault St Tacoma, WA 98406