Maynard Jack Ramsay

Dr. Maynard Jack Ramsay



March 16,2005



Dr. Maynard Jack Ramsay, born 22 November 1914 in Buffalo, NY,was raised in the family home at

37Bergard Place by hismother Lillian(nee Maynard) Ramsay and father William "Dowie"Ramsay, a conductor and brakeman for the NewYork, Chicagoand St. Louis"Nickel Plate" Railroad.



Graduated from the University of Buffalowith a Bachelor of Arts in Biology, Maynard continued his studies under Dr.Albert R. Shadle earning a Master of Arts in Mammology. While pursuing his doctoral research on the Mexican Bean Beetle and its damage tocrops in the Southern New York State he met and, with what he said was a littleprodding by Dr. Shadle, married the former AlbertaJune Wentworth of Canisteo, NY in 1941.



Following the award of his Doctorate in Entomology from Cornell University in 1941 Dr. Ramsay foundemployment as an Economic Entomologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture(USDA). He later became a consulting member of the Cornell Board of Admissionsto the University's Agriculture Department.



Having spent the WWII years "wintering over" on assignmentto St. Paul, Minnesota, Dr. Ramsay moved to New York City in 1945. Onthe front line of defense against imported insect pests, "Doc" Ramsay servedfor the next 23 years as an agricultural inspector and supervisor with the Agiculture Quarantine and Inspection force, then part ofthe USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) now part of theHomeland Security Department.



An instructor in the USDA's "Point Four Program", Dr. Ramsaytaught graduate and post-doctoral students from all over the globe theintricacies of the control of imported insect pests. He maintained hisresidence on Staten Island,NY where he and his gracious wifehosted the students of each class to a backyard American picnic and barbecue.In 1968, the family moved to Bowie,MD following his transfer to theAgriculture Research Service in Beltsville,Md.



During and after his36 years of Federal service, Dr. Ramsay, an internationally recognized beetlespecialist, was called upon to provide his expertise to the SmithsonianInstitution and other national and international entomological organizations.He once assisted John Steinbeck with entomological advice at the writer'sestate at Sag Harbor, LongIsland and even found himself quoted on the subject of "killerbees" in the opening of Arthur Herzog's best selling novel "The Swarm."



For several years following his retirement from FederalService in 1977, Dr. Ramsay traveled and consulted on entomological matters.Consultations included finding the source of wood borers accidentally importedfrom Greece via Italy during the construction of the Kennedy Center in WashingtonDCand the State Department's effort to identify the insect source of the destructionof food crops in central Mexico .



Honored by his listing in American Men of Science and Who'sWho in America ,Dr. Ramsay was a member of the Entomological Societies of America and ofWashington, the Cornell Club's of NewYork and of Washington,and the Gamma Alpha Scientific Society. He was past President of theInsecticide Society of Washington.



Always a ready volunteer, Maynard served as Boy Scout Masterof Troop 26 of the Boy Scouts of America, as an Elder with the Castleton Hill Moravian Church on Staten Island and as an Elder and Trustee of the Trinity Moravian Churchin New Carrolton, Md. For several years, he served on the administrative boardof the Moravian retirement home in Lititz,PA. He participated in a number of Crop Walks in Bowie, Md.And in later years donated food and time to the crop Walk efforts of the New Carrolton Trinity Moravian Church.



Dr. Ramsay, who had made a hobby of English Literatureduring his college years and who could quote from memory major portions ofEnglish and American poetry, had a significant impact upon the education of hischildren, each of whom earned educational awards well beyond high school.



An avid life-long fisherman, hunter, and outdoorsman,Maynard turned to target shooting in his later years. His Prince Georges County Trap and Skeet Clubmembership provided him the opportunity to take his sons, grandsons, andgranddaughters to the Marylandranges and fields to enjoy the shooting sports.His greatest pleasure in his later years was sharing his skills andinterests with his grandchildren whether it be shooting, fishing, gardening,eating unusual delicacies, or riding his favorite tractor mower around the backyard in Bowie. "Grandpa" will be missed, but has left alifetime of memories for all of his family.



He is survived by his sons: Paul (Maureen) Ramsay AS ofManassas, Va., Craig (Jacquelyn) Ramsay, BA of Murfreesboro, Tn., Leigh(Angelina) Ramsay, BS, MSEE of Poway, Ca., Bruce (Ellen) Ramsay, BA, MA, MS of Takoma Park, Md; his only daughter,Carolyn Sue (Robert) Bly, LPN of Arkport, NY, and byhis ten grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren. Maynard's wife of 62 years, Alberta, passed away in June of 2003.



Friends may join the family from 7-9 PM Friday and 2-3 PM Saturday at the BROWN & POWERS FUNERAL HOME, 6 Spruce Street, Canisteo,NY where funeral services willfollow calling hours on Saturday at 3PM. Rev. Regina Shaw willofficiate. Burial will follow at Hillside Cemetery, Canisteo.