Great-grandmother, New Horizons founder, lifelong advocate for Hispanic education

Beloved matriarch, great-grandmother, traveler, avid bridge player and gardener Ester Ramirez died peacefully February 6 at the age of 94.

She was born September 12, 1931 in Claremont to Maria Jesus Bernal and Jose Marcelino. Both parents were from Jalisco, Mexico, and had fled during the Cristero War. She is the last surviving member of the Gomez family that lived on Blanchard Place in Claremont’s Arbol Verde neighborhood.

Ester attended Claremont High School and graduated with honors in 1950. She was active in sports, theater, library, and was class treasurer her senior year. She developed a lifelong love of reading and learning under the encouragement of CHS librarian, Mrs. Mahoney. In her senior year, she won the Business and Professional Women’s Scholarship because of her dedication to her schoolwork as she recovered from an appendectomy. She asked her family to provide her with a typewriter so that she could complete her schoolwork in the recovery room and returned with a completed stack of homework, to the shock and awe of classmates and teachers.

She continued her studies at Chaffey College and upon graduation, she started her career working at Claremont Men’s College (now Claremont McKenna College) as an executive assistant, where she became an invaluable member of the alumni and development team.

In August 1956 she married Henry Ramirez of Pomona and began their life together in their first house at 190 W. 9th St. in Claremont. Henry taught at Whittier Union High School for several years. They quickly observed that many of the high school students couldn’t see academic opportunities beyond high school. So, the couple started a volunteer high school student club for mostly Mexican students that in 1964 became the New Horizons Project, which aimed to provide rigorous coursework and support for Hispanic/Latino students to focus on pathways to college. The tremendous success of this program led them to uproot their lives in California when President Nixon appointed Mr. Ramirez to work in his presidential cabinet in 1971. The U.S. Senate quickly confirmed his appointment as Chairman of the Cabinet Committee on Opportunities for Spanish-Speaking People and the family relocated to the East Coast. The innovative program they founded continues to be active to this day.

She was a tremendous homemaker and enjoyed spending time with their four children. Their eldest, Michael, now lives in Lake Chapala, Mexico; Carol and Christine live in Bethesda, Maryland; and Camille lives in Ellicott City, Maryland. The family has blossomed to include nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. She is also survived by a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and close friends.

She was preceded in death by her husband Henry, who died in 2022 after a brief illness; and her siblings Rigoberto, Ramiro, Esperanza Lomeli, Raul, Ramon, Ruben, and Ricardo.

She is remembered by her family for writing expressive letters and creating children’s stories in book form for posterity when new additions to the family arrived. She was competitive and loved to stay active by playing tennis and chasing after her grandchildren. She loved playing bridge and was happy to challenge anyone in checkers.

In retirement, she loved to read, garden, volunteer and watch telenovelas in Spanish. She would say the shows helped strengthen her Spanish. Despite living in Maryland, she chatted often with her loved ones in Claremont and Mexico. She was close to her Catholic faith, and it was evident to all who met her from her kindness and genuine care for others.

Mass of Christian burial will be held at 11 a.m. February 13 at Our Lady of Mercy, Potomac, Maryland. Interment will follow at All Souls Cemetery in Germantown, Maryland.