Mildred (Gould) Ramirez died at her home on Thursday, January 17, 2008.
Mildred was a lady who represented 96 years as a living history of life in New England during trying times. Mrs. Ramirez was born on March 12, 1911 in Everett, Mass. to Hiram and Alice Gould.
Mrs. Ramirez’s formative years were spent in Billerica and Boxford on family farms where she learned to appreciate how things grew and the benefits and values of hard work. Tasks on a farm did not differentiate between males and females; each individual had to jump in and do what was needed. With a saw in hand, she cut down trees and then switched to an axe to split wood for the fireplaces.
In 1918, at age 9, Mrs. Ramirez, her mother, three sisters and a brother all came down with influenza which killed thousands of Americans. Through proper medications and rest, the entire family recovered. Unfortunately the medication had an adverse effect on Mildred’s teeth. Some years later with money in hand she had her teeth fixed.
After her marriage, Mrs. Ramirez, at age 18, moved into a home on Aquavia Road, which is off Elm Street in Medford. Her hopes to be a nurse were dashed due to her marriage and the sudden collapse of the stock market in 1929.
Eager to find employment, a friend told her about the Spirella Ladies Foundation Garment Corporation, she applied for a sales job and was hired. Her area was the Fulton Heights in Medford which was loaded with “tarpaper shacks.” Affluent people from Boston came to the Heights to enjoy the cool breezes of Wright’s Pond and Spot Pond during the summer months. A friend who owned a gas station in the Heights gave Mildred many leads and corset sales took off.
When her first son Bill was born she had to push him in a carriage up hilly Fulton Heights on the way to work. The corsets sold for $16 to $18 and she had to be paid in advance. From each sale she received from $2-$3. This method of earning money lasted from five to six years until son Edwin was born.
During an interview in the Transcript with Thomas Convery in May 2007, Mrs. Ramirez started to laugh about an incident with a corset that took place decades ago. She had a woman in a corset with her husband coming up the walk. She was unable to undo the strings.
“I could not correct the situation and only laughed all the louder,” she said. “Through sheer determination the day was saved and the corset became undone.”
With the arrival of Warren in 1935, and during the Great Depression, she had to do what she could to fend for herself and her three children.
Renting an apartment at the corner of Washington and Spring streets with the train stations across the street proved to be helpful. Along with neighbors, she and the boys would pick up hunks of coal for heating and on some occasions the engineer would drop coal deliberately. The lumber yard along the tracks was a source of wood for kindling.
During World War II, Mrs. Ramirez was a “jack of all trades.” In 1942, she worked for Standard Valve Mfg. Co, Crosby Steam Gage and Valve, Dewey Almy Co. and the Submarine Signal Co. and the Ford Motor Co. — in Somerville making parts for Army tanks, Horn Brothers, New England Peabody Home For Crippled Children, The Sanborn Co. (before Hewlett-Packard took over), Kimball Nursing Home, Waltham Nursing Home, Schrafts Candy Co., United Carr Fastener Corp., Wayne Club of Boston, Harvard Club of Boston, Walter Fernald State School, New England Sanitorium & Hospital, Sylvania Electric Products, Radio Corp of America, and last, but not least, at age 90 and due to an illness, she left Tufts University in 1999 as the then oldest employee of the school.
Between jobs she returned to school for her high school diploma. She also has a diploma from a medical terminology program at the New England Medical Hospital in Stoneham. Her first love was nursing and the care of children.
Whether a butcher or baker or candlestick maker, Mrs. Ramirez brought a positive attitude to every job. She never drew an unemployment check in all her life.
Mrs. Ramirez’s motto was: “I loved every place I worked and the people were especially considerate and nice to me.”
She is survived by her sons William and his wife, Lois, of Santa Clara, Calif, Edwin and his wife, Genevieve, of Malden, and Warren and his companion, Kathleen Beebee, of Medford.
She was the grandmother of Kenneth Ramirez and his wife, Julie, of California; Karen Goldenberger and her husband, Tim, of Washington; Joanne Verzi and her husband, Bill, of Austin, Texas; Steven and his wife, Helayne, of Sharon; Robert and his wife, Tami, of Burlington; Steven and his wife, Pon, of North Andover; and Susan Williams, of Somerville.
She was the great-grandmother of Kelly Taklo, Robie and Cassie Ramirez, Reese and Austin Williams, Brent and Chad Giacchetto, Laura and Paul Goldenberger, Julia Rose, Kayla Ramirez and Stephanie and Jonathan Verzi.
She was the great-great-grandmother of Isaac and Meadow Taklo.
Mrs. Ramirez was also the aunt of Robert and Betty Stockwell of Sutton; Jerilyn and Ronald Stead of Millbury; and Alice Jean (Newcomb) McClaren of Lowell.
Funeral services was celebrated in the Grace Episcopal Church, 160 High St, Medford, Tuesday, January 22, 2008, at 9:30 a.m.
Many relatives and friends respectfully attended.
Visiting hours were held in the Beals-Geake-Magliozzi Funeral Home, 29 Governors Ave., Medford, Monday, January 21, 2008, from 4 to 8 p.m.
Donations in Mrs. Ramirez’s memory may be made to the Grace Episcopal Church, 160 High St., Medford, MA 02155. For additional information, please visit www.magliozzifuneralhome.com.