Florence Ramer Lay

Florence Ramer Lay, 105, resident of Cleveland, peacefully passed away on Tuesday, January 8, 2013. Florence was born on 30 September 1907 in Bountiful Utah. She attended UCLA, and then transferred to Aurora College, IL where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree. While there she served as President of the Literary Society, and met her future husband L. Clark Lay. After graduation she went on to receive a Masters of Arts in Library Science from the University of Minnesota. She then returned to Los Angeles where she worked for many years as a children's librarian at the Los Angeles Public Library. With her husband, Clark she raised two wonderful Christian boys, David and Steven. She was a life-time lover of chocolate, and had a gift for writing witty rhymes. While living in Cleveland she volunteered for several years in the First Baptist Church Library. Her rather humble opinion about herself has been a gift that has allowed her to focus her attention on others throughout her life. Since a child she was a long-time supporter of world missions. After World War II she was involved in donating to the reconstruction efforts in Japan and supported Veterans with Disabilities. Those of us who love her, thank God for her life. She was preceded in death by her parents, Wilber Stephen and Agnes Linda Ramer; her husband, Clark (1909-1998); and her brother, C. Bruce Ramer, (1904-2007). She is survived by sons: David and his wife, Lillian of Annapolis, Maryland and Steven and his wife, Ann of Cleveland; four grandchildren: BethAnn Wiedenbenner and her husband, Mark, of Cleveland, Timothy Lay of Cleveland; Christina Giese and her husband, Matthew, of Seattle, WA, Deborah Bryant and her husband, David, of Dublin, OH, Melissa McQuillen and her husband, Andrew, of Alexandria, VA; and four great-grandchildren: Brooklyn and Kinsley Bryant of Dublin, OH and Bryleigh and Shiloh McQuillen of Alexandria, VA. Funeral services will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, January 13, 2013 at Grissom Funeral Home with the Reverend Ronald Thomas officiating. She will be buried alongside her husband, Clark in Dowling Park, Florida. Her family will receive friends from 3:00-4:30 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the First Baptist Church Library, PO Box 2368, Cleveland, TN 37320. We invite you to send a message of condolence and view the Lay family guest book at www.grissomfh.net.