Foundation Board Member Marty Ramage, 1957-2011

MDAH News Release — Longtime Department of Archives and History board member Martis D. Ramage, Jr., died November 28, 2011, at his home in Tupelo after suffering a heart attack. He was 54 years old.

Ramage served on the board of trustees for more than fifteen years and was a founding member of the board of directors of the Foundation for Mississippi History.

“All Mississippians have lost one of our most valuable citizen leaders with the passing of Marty Ramage. It was my good fortune to be closely associated with him in the work of the Department of Archives and History,” said former governor William F. Winter. “Marty had an incredible range of interests—as a historian, a talented writer, a genealogist, a highly regarded banking leader, and a loyal supporter of his alma mater, the University of Mississippi. He leaves a huge legacy of unselfish service.”

A frequent patron and meticulous researcher at the state archives, Ramage developed a broad and comprehensive understanding of the work of the Archives and Records Services Division that informed his work on the board of trustees. An accomplished genealogist and lay historian, Ramage also wrote the definitive work Tupelo, Mississippi: Tornado of 1936, and several other books on the history of Tupelo and Lee County. He was a life member of the Mississippi Historical Society and a longtime leader in the North Mississippi Historical and Genealogical Society.

Marty Ramage received his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Mississippi and later graduated from the Mid South School of Banking and the BAI School of Bank Operations and Technology at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Marty’s professional career included more than thirty years with Renasant Bank (formerly People’s Bank and Trust). At his death, he was Division Vice President in Treasury Management and had served as state president of the American Institute of Banking in l996-97.

Ramage was a past member of the Itawamba Community College Board, the ICC Development Foundation, and former Alumnus of the Year. He was a longtime director of Friends of the Lee County Library and a former member of the Library Board. He was also a longtime member of the Board of Directors of the Regional Rehabilitation Center in Tupelo.

Memorials may be made to the Lee County Library, 219 Madison, Tupelo, MS 38802; Sanctuary Hospice House, P.O. Box 2177, Tupelo, MS 38802; First Christian Church, 1590 McCullough Blvd., Tupelo, MS 38801; or to a charity of the donor’s choice.