Ronnae Ramey strives to succeed in honor of her slain father
Ronnae Ramey, center, cheers with teammates at a basketball game. Photo: Erica Yoon
The Roanoke Times | Dec. 24, 2015
By Amy Friedenberger
After her father was gunned down in northwest Roanoke nearly a year ago, Ronnae Ramey thought the worst of herself.
“I thought my life was down the drain,” she said.
Ronnae, 15 years old at the time, let her grades drop, started hanging out with the wrong group of kids and shut down her emotions. Nothing else seemed to be that important compared to the loss of her father.
On Jan. 4, after a night of partying where the former Obenchain’s Greenhouses used to be, in the 3600 block of Shenandoah Avenue, a spray of bullets killed two people and injured four others. Ronnae’s father, Ronald Lee Ramey, 54, and Lenard Antonio Hamlett, 29, died.
The shooting frustrated the police department because dozens of people were there yet no one would speak up. It rattled the community because of how senseless it all seemed. And it left families — daughters like Ronnae — struggling with grief.
Police arrested William Christopher Cabbler, 37, and Demetrius Jermaine Wade, 40, days after the shooting and charged them both with more than two dozen offenses. In October, Cabbler entered three guilty pleas: unlawfully discharging a firearm in an occupied building and possessing both a handgun and ammunition as a felon. He was sentenced to seven years in prison, and he had 25 other charges against him dismissed, including two counts of first-degree murder. As part of Cabbler’s plea agreement, he must provide testimony in Wade’s jury trial, which is scheduled for February. Wade still faces more than a dozen charges, including first-degree murder.
To cope with her father’s death, Ronnae went to grief counseling, and her big, tight-knit family constantly kept in touch with her. She says her family is her biggest support system.
“You got to stand by children, or else they’ll stray,” said Mary Watkins, Ronnae’s grandmother.
Ronnae, now 16, has made some noticeable improvements. She boosted her grades to straight A’s at Forest Park Academy, which she started attending earlier this year. She’s on the cheerleading squad for William Fleming High School, and she plans to play tennis. She’s graduating a year early in the spring, and she’s filling out applications for numerous colleges, including Virginia Union University and Norfolk State University. Ronnae loves children, so she wants to study to be a labor and delivery nurse.
“Dad always wanted me to finish high school and go to college,” Ronnae said. “I’m doing this for my father and my mother.”
Her father was heavily involved in her education, said Ronnae’s mother, Kim Chambers.
“The hardest thing is not being able to pick up the phone and tell Ronnie about how well she’s doing,” Chambers said.
In November, Forest Park Academy hosted four area legislators to learn about the school. Principal Eric Anderson had the students speak to the lawmakers.
Ronnae stood up at front and introduced herself: “My father was the first homicide of the year.” She said she struggled with school for a while, but she was trying to do better now, for her father. She held back tears as she stared at the legislators.
Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, said she seemed sadly numb.
“I glanced at the legislators, and they told me later that was an emotional moment for them,” he said.
Ronnae’s educational recovery is what the teachers at Forest Park Academy are striving for, Anderson said. He stresses that the school isn’t for “bad students,” but those who might need a more nurturing environment. Students like Ronnae, who have experienced trauma, are typical, he said.
Class sizes hover around 10 students, allowing teachers to identify those who may be struggling and connect with them emotionally by providing extra attention and understanding.
“We’re really trying to cater to the total child,” Anderson said. “Ronnae is the kind of person who has connected with everyone. She’s been a really bright light for us.”
Chasity Saunders, Ronnae’s sister and Ronald Ramey’s older daughter, shares with her friends emails the school sends about Ronnae’s successes.
“I love to brag about her,” said Saunders, who works in California.
Saunders and more than a dozen family members and friends gathered at her uncle’s house the week before Thanksgiving for a big dinner. Before they ate, they gathered in the living room to admire Ronnae’s resilience over the past year and praise her achievements and goals.
“I’m glad her inner appearance is now matching her outer appearance, because she’s so beautiful,” Saunders said tearfully, hugging her smiling sister.
Ronnae’s family says this is her father’s legacy.
By Amy Friedenberger
After her father was gunned down in northwest Roanoke nearly a year ago, Ronnae Ramey thought the worst of herself.
“I thought my life was down the drain,” she said.
Ronnae, 15 years old at the time, let her grades drop, started hanging out with the wrong group of kids and shut down her emotions. Nothing else seemed to be that important compared to the loss of her father.
On Jan. 4, after a night of partying where the former Obenchain’s Greenhouses used to be, in the 3600 block of Shenandoah Avenue, a spray of bullets killed two people and injured four others. Ronnae’s father, Ronald Lee Ramey, 54, and Lenard Antonio Hamlett, 29, died.
The shooting frustrated the police department because dozens of people were there yet no one would speak up. It rattled the community because of how senseless it all seemed. And it left families — daughters like Ronnae — struggling with grief.
Police arrested William Christopher Cabbler, 37, and Demetrius Jermaine Wade, 40, days after the shooting and charged them both with more than two dozen offenses. In October, Cabbler entered three guilty pleas: unlawfully discharging a firearm in an occupied building and possessing both a handgun and ammunition as a felon. He was sentenced to seven years in prison, and he had 25 other charges against him dismissed, including two counts of first-degree murder. As part of Cabbler’s plea agreement, he must provide testimony in Wade’s jury trial, which is scheduled for February. Wade still faces more than a dozen charges, including first-degree murder.
To cope with her father’s death, Ronnae went to grief counseling, and her big, tight-knit family constantly kept in touch with her. She says her family is her biggest support system.
“You got to stand by children, or else they’ll stray,” said Mary Watkins, Ronnae’s grandmother.
Ronnae, now 16, has made some noticeable improvements. She boosted her grades to straight A’s at Forest Park Academy, which she started attending earlier this year. She’s on the cheerleading squad for William Fleming High School, and she plans to play tennis. She’s graduating a year early in the spring, and she’s filling out applications for numerous colleges, including Virginia Union University and Norfolk State University. Ronnae loves children, so she wants to study to be a labor and delivery nurse.
“Dad always wanted me to finish high school and go to college,” Ronnae said. “I’m doing this for my father and my mother.”
Her father was heavily involved in her education, said Ronnae’s mother, Kim Chambers.
“The hardest thing is not being able to pick up the phone and tell Ronnie about how well she’s doing,” Chambers said.
In November, Forest Park Academy hosted four area legislators to learn about the school. Principal Eric Anderson had the students speak to the lawmakers.
Ronnae stood up at front and introduced herself: “My father was the first homicide of the year.” She said she struggled with school for a while, but she was trying to do better now, for her father. She held back tears as she stared at the legislators.
Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, said she seemed sadly numb.
“I glanced at the legislators, and they told me later that was an emotional moment for them,” he said.
Ronnae’s educational recovery is what the teachers at Forest Park Academy are striving for, Anderson said. He stresses that the school isn’t for “bad students,” but those who might need a more nurturing environment. Students like Ronnae, who have experienced trauma, are typical, he said.
Class sizes hover around 10 students, allowing teachers to identify those who may be struggling and connect with them emotionally by providing extra attention and understanding.
“We’re really trying to cater to the total child,” Anderson said. “Ronnae is the kind of person who has connected with everyone. She’s been a really bright light for us.”
Chasity Saunders, Ronnae’s sister and Ronald Ramey’s older daughter, shares with her friends emails the school sends about Ronnae’s successes.
“I love to brag about her,” said Saunders, who works in California.
Saunders and more than a dozen family members and friends gathered at her uncle’s house the week before Thanksgiving for a big dinner. Before they ate, they gathered in the living room to admire Ronnae’s resilience over the past year and praise her achievements and goals.
“I’m glad her inner appearance is now matching her outer appearance, because she’s so beautiful,” Saunders said tearfully, hugging her smiling sister.
Ronnae’s family says this is her father’s legacy.
