Gone far too soon for us, yes, but not gone before he transformed an incalculable number of lives. In my opinion, both our Father and all the angels amongst and above us reached the unanimous decision, “well done, good and faithful servant!” Because if ever there was a man with a servant’s heart, faithful to the calling on his life and the purpose placed before him, no matter the obstacles that would have to be endured, it was Coach Ramsey. 
 
Between 1988 and 1992 he was not only my track and field coach but a father figure, whose daily lessons during our track practices and meets I still reference- and seek to uphold. He was big on forgiveness, even when I argued against it. I understand now it was my spirit with which he was most concerned- not theirs. He reprimanded me often for the tantrums I threw as the result of a perfectionist attitude which I’d developed to counteract the remnants of a dysfunctional childhood. I realized, much later than I care to admit, his opposition to my pity parties was because he saw a potential in me I did not yet see.  
 
Coach Ramsey spent every moment we had together pushing me beyond my preconceived limitations; he wanted me to live as the person he believed I was born to be, rather than succumb to being someone others told me I would “most likely” be as the product of generational familial discord. Because of his belief in me, I began to believe in me, too. And together Coach Ramsey and I got me a few Track and Field Championship medals and a Long Jump record at Atlantic City High School that lasted almost twenty years.  
 
To remember Coach Ramsey is to remember a man who was exceedingly more than a coach: he was the father figure who guided us and cared about us unconditionally; the leader with a servant’s heart who believed in and never gave up on us. He never gave up on any one of us.