Clemente Medeiros Ramos, 99, passed away Thursday, February 24, 2011, at Charlton Memorial Hospital, surrounded by his loving family. He was the husband of the late Maria "Nina" (Lourenço) Ramos. Born in Povoaçao, Sao Miguel, Azores, Nov. 23, 1911, the fourth of eight sons born to Antonio Gonçalves Ramos and Beatriz Aldina de Medeiros Pacheco. He is survived by his brother Fernando de Medeiros Ramos of Lisbon, Portugal. He was the brother of the late Jose, Antonio, Deodato, Armando, Teofilo and Roberto Ramos. In Portugal, Mr. Ramos worked as an office manager for a retail union. He was a founding member of the Maritimo Sport Clube and served in various positions including President. He was also a Director of the Associacao de Futebol and the Associacao de Patinagem de Ponta Delgada. In 1966, Mr. Ramos and wife immigrated to Fall River to be with their children. He is survived by his sons Luis and his wife Tina of Somerset; Teofilo and his wife Ana of Swansea, and his daughter Fatima Goncalves and her husband Joaquim of Somerset with whom he lived for over 15 years. His love for music, sports and popular art led him to the front of several cultural and civic activities in the area. In 1973, he was a founding member of the Portuguese social club, Ateneu Luso Americano. His interest in preserving the Portuguese culture and music led him to create the folk dancing group, Os Lusitanos, in 1974. The group performed traditional dances and songs of the Azores, Madeira and continental Portugal throughout the U.S., Canada and Portugal. In 1978, the group was featured in National Geographic Magazine and Mr. Ramos received several honors for his dedication to Portuguese art and culture. Mr. Ramos was an enthusiastic soccer fan and a member of LS Benfica since 1998. Recently, he researched family history and wrote several short books about his life in Portugal and the traditions shared by his family. He was also an avid user of the Internet, Facebook and Skype.
Family was especially important to Clemente and he was blessed to have nine grandchildren: Julie Ramos Gagliardi and her husband Nicholas, Ann Ramos Desrosiers and her husband Andrew, Paul Goncalves and his wife Tracey, Jorge Goncalves, Suzana Goncalves DeMoura and her husband Keith, Pedro Ramos and his wife Erin, Elizabeth, Nina, and Andrea Ramos. He also enjoyed the admiration and love of his nine great-grandchildren: Nicholas and Michael Gagliardi, Aidan and Isabel Desrosiers, Elizabeth and Joshua Ramos, Riley and Addyson Goncalves, and Luke DeMoura. He will also be missed by many nieces, nephews, extended family and friends. His Funeral Mass was celebrated on Monday, February 28, at St. Patrick's Church in Somerset followed by his committal in St. Patrick's Cemetery in Fall River. Donations in his memory may be made to the National MS Society, NE Chapter, P.O. Box 845945, Boston, MA 02284-5945.