Ramo James, age 74, of Chelsea, MI, passed away Memorial Day 2022 at his home. Ramo was born on August 11, 1947 in Detroit, MI. His parents were Cedric and Kathleen Hatmaker. He graduated from Brighton High School and attended Washtenaw Community College taking writing, photography, music, and voice classes.
He was drafted into the Army’s 9th Infantry Division Artillery in 1966. He was stationed at Fort Ord, deployed to Vietnam in 1967 and discharged in 1968.
He began playing guitar as a teen, influenced by his Uncle Harold Hatmaker. He played lead and rhythm guitar in various bands, among others: The Cohort, Broadcasters, Doo Wop Band. It was a rare occasion to find him without a guitar in his hands or without a pencil jotting down song lyrics and guitar notations.
He worked at A2 Recording Studio in Ann Arbor as a recording technician, at Music Mart in Ann Arbor as a guitar teacher, at the Chelsea Standard newspaper developing photographs for the paper, at Wonderland Music in Dearborn as a guitar teacher/repairman, and at Koontz Guitar Repair in Ferndale.
He was a Detroit Tigers and an ever hopeful Detroit Lions fan.
On September 15, 1989, he married Margaret Elaine Doub in Toledo, Ohio, and she survives. Also surviving are his cousin, Barbara (Louie) Burr, his goddaughter, Sydney Schmitter (Cassily), many friends and bandmates, his horses, and ‘too many’ cats, especially Mr. Black.
Military funeral honors and burial will take place at Fort Custer National Cemetery in Augusta Township on Thursday, June 16, 2022 at 2:00 p.m.
Memorial contributions may be made to: KatSnips.org, HappyHeartsFelineRescue.org, Lymphoma.org (to fund research into Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma), FischerHouse, or Meals on Wheels through the Chelsea Senior Center.
Arrangements by Staffan-Mitchell Funeral Home, Chelsea.
