Elias Ramirez Jr.

Elias Ramirez Jr., also known as Junior, was born June 24, 1960, and left this earth on August 5, 2022, at the age of 62 at his home in Seguin, Texas.

He was born in Laredo, Texas, the first son of Elias Bazan Ramirez and Margarita Solis. As a child, Elias lived in several cities from Laredo Texas to Escondido, Santa Ana, Garden Grove, and others in California. At age 7, his parents divorced.  They each remarried resulting in a total of 8 siblings, seven brothers and one sister.

Eli was a particularly good student and earned recognitions for his academics. He liked history, the sciences and photography. Some of his photos were featured in the school’s creative writing book.

In his teens, he would spend summers with his tios in Modesto, Northern California and work in the fields picking grapes, peaches, cherries - anything that needed harvesting. He came to appreciate the value of hard work.  During these summers he earned enough money and, with the help of family, bought his first car - a used Datsun B210 hatchback. He and his brother Juan took their first road trip together driving from Los Angeles to Texas in their late teens -it did not quite go as planned but it sparked his spirit for adventure.

He graduated from Mountain View High School in El Monte, California and took a Medical Assistant course. When completed, he worked in an industrial medical clinic tending to patients. The administrator and medical director were so impressed with him that they encouraged him to continue school and think about becoming a doctor. They even offered to pay for medical school if he applied and was accepted. Destiny, however, had a different path for him. He decided to work at the local Kern’s factory and gain his independence. He worked extremely hard and earned enough to get his first apartment at the age of 18.

Of course, that apartment had no furniture and an empty refrigerator, but the excitement of having his own place and being his own man meant more to him than that.  Shortly after this, Elias met his first wife, Beatrice, and fathered three beautiful children, Desiree, Jason and Matthew. He continued to work long hours and devoted himself to providing for his young family. He was able to buy his first home in Pico Rivera, California when he was in his early 20s.

In 1994, he met his wife, Martha. Martha and Elias lived in Pasadena, California then moved to his native Texas in 2004. He and Martha would celebrate their 28th anniversary, the very day we host his Celebration of Life on August 16th. They shared many adventures together. They were inseparable.

As a child, he loved learning about unfamiliar places and dreamed of visiting them. As an adult, he was thrilled to visit Jamaica, the Bahamas, Cayman Islands and Cozumel. He and Martha also ventured to Puerto Rico, St. Paul and Grand Turk.  He enjoyed the island culture and longed to experience more interesting places.  He wanted his next trip to be to Alaska.

Eli was also a collector. He fully believed that “another man’s trash is someone else’s treasure” and he collected lots of “treasures” – a garage full of them!  In his later years, his favorite pastimes became simple. He loved trying to find the best tacos in town, visit the river side, and watch movies while eating buttered popcorn. He loved spending time with his three dogs, Precious, Delta, and Cookie and relaxing at home. He especially liked shows that made him laugh like “2 Broke Girls”, “Mike and Molly”, and “Two and a Half Men”.  He enjoyed having visitors and showing off his Texas town and its best barbecue spots. Eli loved Texas.

In his last years, Eli spent time in deep thought reflecting on his life. He had regrets in life and wished he would have done some things differently.  He felt blessed that his children had grown to become hard working and fiercely independent - like he was.  He adored his granddaughter Rogan Harper and was blessed with another granddaughter, Mila Joy earlier this year. And that is not all.  Just days after Eli left this earth, he was blessed with yet another granddaughter, Madeline Soleil.

Elias is survived by his wife and partner, Martha, his daughter Desiree, his sons Jason and Matthew, and his three beautiful granddaughters.  He also leaves behind his one sister, five brothers, thirteen nieces and nephews, and many cousins and extended family.

He now joins his mother, Margarita, father, Elias, stepfather, Bebo, his brothers Juan and Job and loving tios and tias and primos in the life after. His mom is surely greeting him with a fresh pot of frijoles, a pitcher of horchata, and sizzling carne asada served with homemade tortillas. I am sure these will be the best tacos in town!

Visitation will be held on August 16, 2022 at Palmer Mortuary from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and a Prayer service will begin at 6:00 p.m. A continued visitation will be on August 17, 2022 at Palmer Mortuary beginning at 8:30 a.m. and Funeral Services will begin at 10:00 a.m. Interment will follow at Guadalupe Valley Memorial Park.