Francina Pittman
On the 3rd of August 1938, Francina VaLois Pittman was born in Beaver, Oklahoma. She was the first daughter to Amos Tindle Pittman and Grace Francina Wood. At 82 years of age, VaLois passed from this life on the 6th of February 2021.
VaLois grew up on the family farm southeast of Beaver with her three sisters, Vera, Erma and Amy. Having no brothers, the four sisters worked the farm with their father. Working the land instilled a life-long love of the farm that never faded. Being older than their kid sisters, VaLois and Vera always enjoyed bickering with Erma and Amy over who worked the hardest. In the end, all learned the value of hard work and taking on responsibility.
In the fall of 1956, VaLois went to college at Panhandle A&M College in Goodwell, Oklahoma where she met “the best-looking man on campus”. In the fall of 1957, this young man, Serafin “Fin” Ramon of Stratford, Texas, transferred to the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque to work on his master’s degree. Shortly thereafter in January 1958, VaLois eloped to Albuquerque and married Serafin on January 22, 1958. She always said, “Even though I sometimes get aggravated with him, I have never regretted that decision.” A decision that lasted 63 years.
VaLois and Fin returned to Goodwell in 1959 where they have lived ever since, with the exception of two years spent in Lawrence, Kansas. Together they raised three children: Amos Tindle Pittman Ramon, Feliza Diane Ramon Carter and Serafin Tenoch Ramon. All three graduated from Goodwell High School and Panhandle State University.
VaLois was a dedicated stay at home wife and mother who invested her life in the role of family nurturing and support. One of VaLois’s favorite quotes was her father’s paraphrased version of a passage from a poem by William Wallace. He would say “Sis, the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.” This may have been the seed for her greatest passion in life, babies. She loved babies of all types and always had room for one more. Whether it was one of her children, a niece, a nephew, other people’s children or an orphaned animal, she always made room to nurture a little one in need, all of whom benefited from her care, and arts and crafts sessions. One of her little ones was nephew Jerod Costner. She provided day care for him while sister Erma was in college. Jerod’s version of VaLois came out “Bobo”. From then on she has been known as Bobo by the many little ones she helped raise, as well as by many family and friends.
VaLois’s other passions included reading, art and gardening. She was accomplished at all these endeavors as evidenced by her large library, the excellent pieces of art she created, and the Goodwell main street park that she created and cared for over many years. She was also instrumental in obtaining and helping to plant many trees on the OPSU campus. She was an advocate for protecting the lands of the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles. She played an instrumental role in preventing efforts by New York City to haul massive amounts of sewage waste to the panhandles. She also successfully helped organize area farmers against the creation of a PCB waste pit in the Oslo Texas community in the northwestern corner of Hansford County.
She is survived by husband, Serafin “Fin” Ramon of the home. Three children, Tindle Ramon and wife, Kristi, of Spearman, Texas; Feliza and husband, Todd Carter, of Liberal, Kansas; Tenoch Ramon and wife, Rene, of Goodwell, Oklahoma. Grandchildren are Elizabeth Taylor, Amber and Dustin King, Lindsey and Michael Fields, Nicole and Eric Neumeier, Ryan and Erika Ramon, Cayden Ramon and Kya Ramon. She was blessed with twelve great-grandchildren: Logan and Hadley Taylor; Brooklyn, Harper and William King; Preston, Finn, Scarlett and Charlie Neumeier; Paisley and Canaan Ramon; and baby Fields who is due this summer. She was also anticipating with excitement her great-great granddaughter Haisley Sage who was born on February 8th .
VaLois was preceded in death by her parents, Amos and Grace Pittman.