- Date Of Death: July 1, 2014
- State: Indiana
William “Bill” Sayer Ramsay, 74, of Elkhart, whom blessed this earth with his witty charm, intelligence and love for family, entered heaven at 3:08 a.m. Tuesday, July 1, at Elkhart General Hospital.
Born in Portsmouth, England, to his mother and father, the late Marian Sayer Smith and William Ramsay, they survived the horrific bombings caused by the Germans in World War II.
To protect the family and to ensure a safer world, Bill’s father moved his family to his native country of Scotland. They settled in a small and rural, yet magnificent, town in West Lothian, Scotland, called Fauldhouse.
Bill went to further his intellect at the West of Scotland Committee for Technical Education of Coatbridge Technical College, where he received degrees in mechanical and structural steel engineering.
Upon graduation, Bill’s quest for a brighter future drew him to the U.S. where he settled in Toledo, Ohio. There, he met the love of his life, Rozanne “Rose” Corwin, and they married on Oct. 9, 1965.
Rose supported Bill’s desires to take advantage of the many opportunities that the U.S. could offer, and they moved to Elkhart where his career focus was on structural engineering.
Bill was an entrepreneur and visionary when he started his company called Ramsay Drafting. Throughout his career, Bill designed and calculated many buildings, bridges and schools throughout the country and he took great pride in his work.
Bill is survived by his wife, Rose Rita Ramsay. They have four children, William C. Ramsay and his wife, Viola Macri, of South Bend, Heather L. Czarnecki of Wheaton, Ill., Eric N. Ramsay of Elkhart and Craig M. Ramsay and his fiancée, Myrna Ozaeta, of Indianapolis. Bill and Rose have five beautiful grandchildren, William Macri Ramsay, Kaila Czarnecki, Jessica Czarnecki, Christine Czarnecki and Halle Czarnecki.
Bill was loved and admired by everyone he met. He loved to tell stories of his experience as a child of World War II, his beautiful country of Scotland and, in his words, the greatest country in the world, the United States of America.
Bill loved to play golf, especially at his favorite course, the Old Course of St. Andrews in Scotland. Bill also loved to spend every moment of time with his family where they would summer at his cottage at Shavehead Lake in Vandalia, Mich. Bill will be dearly missed by all.
