Former Kane Sheriff Ramsey remembered as soldier, teacher, deacon and family man

Former Kane County Sheriff Kenneth Ramsey, 75, who died Saturday, was a longtime lawman, soldier, teacher and, later in life, a deacon at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Batavia.

But in his personal life, he was devoted to his grandchildren, his widow, Peg Ramsey, said.

"We were married 52 years, with four children and 10 grandchildren. And he said, 'What is a grandpa supposed to do but spoil his grandkids?'" she said. "He took them shopping and drove them around in his Camaro sports car. They were his pride and joy. And they are at a loss for Grandpa. They are missing him terribly. ... They were his world."

In particular, Ramsey had a stick shift in the sports car to make sure his granddaughters knew how to drive a stick, she said.

According to his obituary, Ramsey grew up in the Batavia Highlands subdivision of Batavia, which is in the Geneva 304 school district. He attended St. Peter Catholic School in Geneva and graduated from Geneva High School in 1966.

A Purple Heart Army veteran, Ramsey was trained in military intelligence and served with the 25th Infantry Division in Vietnam, also earning a Bronze Star Medal and an Army Commendation Medal with Cluster.

Ramsey had a bachelor's degree in applied behavioral science and a master's degree in theology.

He had been past commander of Batavia Overseas VFW Post 1197, an alderman in Batavia, past president of the Illinois Sheriffs' Association and international president of FBI National Academy Associates, according to the obituary.

Ramsey had been a Batavia patrol officer from 1971 to 1974, then became a sheriff's deputy. He was elected sheriff in 1994, where he served three terms.

At age 60, he began six years of instruction and preparation to become a deacon and began serving at Holy Cross Catholic Church at age 66, he said in a 2014 interview with the Kane County Chronicle.

Peg Ramsey said her husband was ailing in his later years with heart disease, failing kidneys - he had been on dialysis for a year - and the recent onset of Lewy body dementia.

Ramsey had stopped doing deacon's duties at Holy Cross because he had trouble remembering, she said.

In his home life, the couple enjoyed a Canadian comedy show called "Corner Gas" and the old Bob Newhart show "Newhart."

"He would laugh out loud at everything," Peg Ramsey said of her husband. "He asked me why I don't laugh out loud. I said, 'I don't want to miss the next joke.'"

The morning he died, Ramsey was downstairs in the family room watching TV, Peg said.

"I heard him turn the TV off. I figured he was going on the computer, and I never heard anything after that," Peg Ramsey said. "He was sitting on the couch with his hand on the arm as though he was going to get up, and I think his heart just stopped."

Moss Funeral Home in Batavia is handling the arrangements.

Funeral Mass will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Holy Cross Catholic Church, 2300 Main St., Batavia. Burial will follow at Resurrection Catholic Cemetery, 37W210 Fabyan Parkway, Geneva.