Marjorie Johnston Ramana

OKLAHOMA CITY - Marjorie Johnston Ramana passed away on February 8, 2023.

She was born on August 7, 1928 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the only child of George Warren Johnston, an electrician, and Laura Hunt Johnston, a high school teacher who also owned a knitting shop. The family moved to Winchester, Massachusetts when she was young, and she spent many happy summers in St. Albans, Vermont with her aunt and uncle ( John and May Hunt) and her five cousins (Laura, John, Eleanor, Ruth and Marjorie Gray).

Marjorie graduated from Winchester High School, where she played the piano in class productions, and Boston University, where she majored in government and minored in English literature. After college, she moved to Washington, D.C. and worked for the United States Navy’s Bureau of Yards and Docks. While in Washington, she met Dr. C.V. Ramana Reddy, a psychoanalyst at the National Institutes of Heath, whom she married in 1955.

In 1957, Dr. Ramana accepted an appointment to the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, and Marjorie and Dr. Ramana moved to Oklahoma City. While raising a son, she was active in many civic and charitable causes and cultural organizations, including, the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Institute of Discussion, Head Start, the League of Woman Voters, parent/teacher associations, PEO, and Sunbeam Family Services. A lifelong lover of many kinds of music, from opera to folk, she enjoyed traveling to summer festivals with her family. She was also a nature lover, and delighted in her many trips to America’s national parks.

In 1980, a year after losing her husband, Marjorie received a scholarship to the Oklahoma City University School of Law. She started law school at age 52, graduated with Honors, and served on the Law Review. Following graduation, she practiced at the DeVore Law Firm in Oklahoma City, representing landowners in pollution and royalty cases and plaintiffs in civil rights cases. She also practiced family law. She appeared as counsel in 12 reported cases in state and federal courts, including as lead counsel in Snell v. Tunnell, a case in the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit involving the constitutional rights of foster children, which she argued and won.

While working as a lawyer, she began riding her bicycle for recreation and fitness. From ages 66 to 80, she traveled to 16 countries across Europe with groups of fellow cyclists, spending one to three weeks touring the countryside on each trip. Marjorie was also a lifelong dog lover, sharing both happy and challenging times with many very lucky canine friends.

She was preceded in death by her husband Dr. C. V. Ramana, and will be remembered with love and admiration by her son Rabindranath, daughterin-law Sheridan McCaffree, and two grandchildren Rabindranath Bryce and Aidan Chandrasekhara (Oklahoma City).

The Ramana family expresses its lasting gratitude to the McCaffree and Wade families of Lawton, Oklahoma. Over many years the McCaffrees and the Wades welcomed Marjorie—a native New Englander who found herself far away from her family of origin—into their homes with love and affection. The family is also deeply appreciative for the holistic and loving care provided to Marjorie in her final years by the staff at the Valir Pace Program, Quail Ridge Assisted Liviing, Tuscany Village Nursing Center, and the Valir Hospice Program.

A memorial service will be held on March 4, 2023 at 11:00 a.m., at the First Unitarian Church, 600 N.W. 13th, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Memorial donations may be made to the American Civil Liberties Union, Free to Live Animal Sanctuary, Oklahoma City University School of Law, or Sunbeam Family Services.