‘They were geeks, who loved to fly’

LISA HOBBS

News Editor

The wives and daughters of Brian Stuart Ramsey, 69, and Keith Warren Ramsey, 65, provided Warren County Way with an exclusive interview.

“We want to honor our men,” said Trish, Keith’s wife. “I would like for people to know who they were, for those who didn’t know them. Of course, we think they were special. They were annoying, but they were special, and we loved them. Keith and I have been here for almost six years. Brian and Liz moved here in August of last year. We come from Virginia. They come from Colorado.”

Keith, who spent 33 combined years in the U.S. Army, rose to the rank of full colonel, wanted to retire in a quiet community and on land that had a private landing strip. Trish said he searched far and wide and finally found property in Viola that provided both. Brian and Liz felt that same need, so they purchased adjacent land and planned to build a house.

The brothers, along with another sibling named Bruce, were born to Charles and Shirley Ramsey, of Spartanburg, South Carolina. Their father served in the military, retiring as a major, so relocations weren’t uncommon. In fact, Keith and Bruce were born on an Airforce base in Japan.

Brian spent almost 17 years in the U.S. Airforce, rising to the rank of major. That’s where he met his future wife, a supply officer at that time, while they served at Cannon Airforce Base in New Mexico. While Brian had his eyes on her, she didn’t yet share that spark.

Liz says she was sitting in an officer’s club next to a friend, Terry, and Brian came over and sat next to them. She had a habit of sitting with one leg crossed under the other, with a foot sticking out. Brian playfully slipped off her shoe and tickled her foot, a big mistake. 

“I told him quickly that it wasn’t an appropriate thing to do,” she said. “He decided to depart. After he left, I thought that the evening had gone flat. Where was that entertaining person sitting next to me? I said goodbye to the girls and walked out. There was Mr. Smooth in his Porsche.”

The two planned a date for the following night. Sadly, Brian hadn’t learned his lesson about tickling Liz.

“When we got back from our date, we went back to his apartment to talk for a while. He had a wood burning stove. He started that up. We were sitting side-by-side on the floor conversing. For whatever reason, I sat up to reach for his feet. ‘You tickled my foot yesterday. Can I get yours?’ Brian is extremely ticklish. I went to tickle his feet. I’m sitting up. He grabs my waist to just pull me a little bit.”

Liz demonstrated an action of jerking backwards, pulling her bent arms behind her and striking Brian in the eye, “He woke up with the shiner of all shiners. On our first date, I gave my husband a blackeye. His head hit the shag-covered carpeted concrete floor and he saw stars. So, of course, I was the one for him.”

They married on Sept. 26, 1987, a marriage of almost 39 years. Their only daughter, Bekah, is 21 years old. The couple attended Christ Community Church.

“He was my best friend and my hero,” said Bekah. “There is so much of him in me, and I’m so incredibly lucky to have had a dad like him. We never fought, even when I was being a moody teenager. He just always knew what to say and how to make everything better. He would talk about me and my mom at every opportunity, and I always knew how proud he was of me and he would always tell me.”

She added, “He was just so incredibly special, and he taught me the value of hard work, genuine connection, and loving what you do. He had a remarkable ability to make people feel known wherever he went, and that is the kind of presence I hope to bring people for the rest of my life.”

Trish met Keith at a barbecue/ pool party at his parents’ house. The sparks, no elbows, flew,

“I liked his legs,” Trish said laughing, with a look that hinted of memories rushing back. “He had on shorts, and I liked his legs.”

Liz said the instant attraction was mutual for her brother-in-law, “Keith’s eyes did not leave off Trish. He watched her the whole time.”

They married on June 3, 1989, a marriage spanning 37 years. Emma, their only child, is 33 years old. The couple attended Martin Chapel Fellowship.

“When it comes to memories of dad, one of the first ones that came to mind wasn’t really about dad. It was less about him and more indicative of how I grew up. You know how boys get the little RC remote control cars? Well, I had a remote control M1A1 tank that I took to school to show everyone. I got in trouble for taking it to school.”

Another memory was a school project. Emma was assigned a science project in high school.

“We, in the back yard, measured the accuracy of the paintball gun versus the PSI. So, how fast it was going. He did my science project with me. It was really funny because I was doing it for a bio class. That is not a bio thing. I still got second place. But we spent time in the backyard with a paintball gun and an air compressor. He put a target on the fence, and we had the best time.”

While Keith knew the value of a college education and gifted generously to family members who graduated, college wasn’t initially for him.

“From what I was told, mainly for the purposes of inspiring me to do otherwise, was that he went to the University of South Carolina and he drank his way through his first semester. He’d showed up only for the tests and ended with a grade point average less than 1.0 and then dropped out,” said Emma, who smiled knowingly.

Her father later obtained a master’s degree in operations research, compliments of the military.

“Brian didn’t flunk out his first year, but it was close,” said Liz. “He started R.O.T.C. in college. He was looked at by the lieutenant colonel of the R.O.T.C. detachment. He told him, ‘You need to get your grades up next semester, or I will enlist you in the Air Force.’ Brian argued that he could go work for IBM and do computer stuff. The lieutenant colonel said,

‘No, you belong to us right now. If you don’t get your grades up and graduate, you will be enlisted in the Air Force for four years.’ So, he pulled himself up and graduated.”

Brian received a master’s degree in computer science.

Keith went to work for a television station, but his spontaneous nature, combined with a desire for adventure, stopped that as a career option.

“That’s where the geeky started – audio and visual,” said Trish. “That didn’t pan out either. He wanted to take some time off to go on a ski trip. They wouldn’t let him go. So, he quit. At that point, while he didn’t tell his parents, he already had a plan to enlist. He was a helicopter mechanic. He wanted to fly, but at that time, his eyesight wouldn’t allow it.”

Keith attended a prep school and entered West Point, the United States Military Academy, in 1982. He was the oldest his class, at the age of 21. He graduated in 1986.”

Liz added, “Brian was so proud of Keith. When he was at the prep school, he was one of two who received Presidential Nominations to attend West Point. Brian would always brag on Keith. He’d say, ‘my brother, the colonel,’ when he’d tell people about it.”

Being brothers, they liked to urge each other on in what some might have interpreted as competitiveness. Liz and Trish agreed it was a mixture of the two.

“When we were young, my uncle Brian tried to convince my cousins and I that he was smarter than his brothers,” said Emma. “He said the reason he’s smarter than his brothers is because he’s the oldest. When a woman has her baby, she gives half her brain to the baby. So, he got half, because he was first. When my dad came, he only got one-fourth, or half of the remaining half. Uncle Bruce got an eighth. That also means Nana had nothing left.”

Laughter filled the room.

“Emma calls her father on the way home,” said Liz. “He calls Brian and says, ‘what are you telling my daughter?’ Brian acts innocent and says, ‘about what? I might have told them several things.’ She was a smart girl, so she was buying the math.”

Emma added, “The math made sense. The math checked out. I just felt bad for Nana, honestly.”

Along with being in the military, sharing a love of flying, and having one daughter, they had other similarities: both were in government contracting in the defense industry, both retired and went back to work, both loved technology and anything to do with computers, both owned Porsches, both liked to just drive, both liked to sing, both had a high level of integrity, both were tenacious, both were loving, both were loyal to a fault, both were full of life and looking forward to actual retirement, and both knew that family was of upmost importance.

While Trish was more hesitant to move to Tennessee, Keith embraced rural life in Viola. The Porsche he had loved years ago was replaced by a John Deere tractor.

“The tractor replaced the Porsche,” said Trish. “I don’t quite see how, but that was it. He loved his tractor. He would default to the tractor for a lot of things.”

Since the tragedy, friends of both men have relayed kind words.

“When I called his co-worker to tell her what happened, what she said to me was that we had the kind of marriage that she wished she had. She said she could tell how he spoke about me and my daughter just how much he loved us. He bragged on us. She said, ‘I want my husband to talk about me the way your husband talked about you.’ As far as I’m concerned, that’s the best epitaph I have of his character,” said Liz.

Trish said Keith was more reserved with his feelings, but everyone he loved knew it.

“I had an old friend of Keith’s find me on Facebook and reach out,” said Trish. “He said, ‘He was a dear friend. I can’t really believe that he’s gone. He was a special man.’”

All couples have hobbies.

“When we had time off together, we would go and have breakfast and do the crossword puzzle in the newspaper,” said Trish. “Often times, it was a Waffle House. For the last couple of months, not every Saturday, but we defaulted to go to Medley’s and have breakfast and do the crossword puzzle. We did that on the Saturday before he died. I was thankful for that.”

Liz and Brian loved board and card games. Qwirkle was their current favorite, but it used to be Backgammon. Mondays was game night for the two couples. Additionally, Liz and Brian shared a love for reading science fiction, mysteries, and thrillers.

“[Brian] told lots of stories about his family, me and Bekah, like his dad,” said Liz. “His dad could also tell stories. Brian could talk to anybody about anything. That was Brian. ‘If you want to talk about this, we can. If you want to talk about that, we can. If you want to talk about family, I can one up you. I’ve got lots of family stories.’ That was Brian.”

Trish added, “They were bigger than life. They were special men. They were ours. We are better for having them in our lives. He inspired me to do things that I would not have done on my own. Keith had a SCUBA certification and loved to dive. Because of him, my daughter and I both got certified to scuba dive in 2014. He also inspired me to go back to school in 2017. This is something I would never have done without his influence and could never achieved without his support. They were special men. They were.”

This exclusive interview with Warren County Way is just that. Trish called it “one and done.” The family is asking for privacy as they grieve their loss.