Melanie Ramey, a long-time Madison resident, has died at the age of 87. Originally from Fort Smith, Arkansas, Melanie was a Freedom Rider in the Civil Rights movement, for which she was arrested in Tennessee and North Carolina. Melanie grew up in a “man’s world” but she harnessed it, made it her own, and never bowed her head to anyone.

During her life, she did it all; she was a social worker, attorney, social justice advocate, business and community leader, and mentor; she worked with Jewish Social Services to resettle refugees, she was the Executive Director of the YWCA, and the CEO of the Hospice Organizations and Palliative Experts of Wisconsin. She got ordained to perform a same-sex wedding, and went door to door advocating against a gay marriage ban. Melanie was President of the Rotary Club of Madison, and her initiatives raised close to a million dollars over the years. She was President of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, served on the Board of the Madison Community Foundation, the Council for the Blind, the Civil Rights Commission, and many more.

Melanie was famous for her caustic sense of humor and deadpan delivery; people would start to chuckle even as she made her way to a microphone. One of the many awards she received was the Swarsensky Humanitarian Service Award, as she was the quintessential bridge builder; fair-minded, and generous with her time and resources. When her husband's health deteriorated, she didn’t even consider placing him in a “facility”; she rented a hospital bed and got daily in-home caregivers while she was at work. Melanie was not the kind of person who leaves you behind when it gets hard to keep you around.

She famously met Anderson Cooper while in line at the airport; years later, when Cooper was reporting on the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, he sent his private plane to pick up Melanie from Madison and took her to New Orleans for dinner at the Commander’s Palace. Melanie had a million stories like that; it's unlikely anyone has heard them all. Most involve ordinary people, those down on their luck, destitute immigrants, parents with children in hospice care, and students trying to find their way in the world. She loved meeting people and was always eager to help, which earned her a veritable army of friends. It's impossible to write something shorter than a book that does Melanie justice: She was a saint on earth, and we're all poorer without her—but we have an example of how we should lead our life.

A memorial service to celebrate her life will be held at Capitol Lakes, 333 W. Main St, in Madison, on Friday July 31 at 2pm.

Please share your memories of Melanie by posting in her guestbook.

Cress Funeral & Cremation Service

3610 Speedway Road Madison

(608) 238-3434