Ramona Jean Jervis

Ramona was born in Poteau, Oklahoma to Leona and James France. She had one brother, James France Jr., who preceded her in death. Her father was a farmer and carpenter. Her mother was a seamstress. The family moved to California when she was in grade school. Her father continued to work as a carpenter in Southern California. Her mother went to work for North American Rockwell in Downey. Her brother served in the Armed Forces. Ramona was a fun loving teen-ager. With her dark hair and light eyes (she had one green eye and one blue eye), she resembled her favorite actress, Elizabeth Taylor. Like many young girls in the 1950s, she loved to go to the Pike in Long Beach and flirt with the handsome sailors. Ramona graduated from Bell Gardens High School. She was an exceptional typist. She went to work in an escrow office and eventually purchased the business herself. It was while working in the escrow business that she met her husband, Harold Jervis. Harold was tall and handsome. He was in real estate and had a young son named David. Harold and Ramona were married in 1963 and had two daughters together, Cindy and Kristin. Ramona loved being a mother and homemaker. She handmade clothes for her daughters’ Barbie dolls and prize winning costumes for Halloween. She loved cooking and entertaining. Her children and later, her nine grandchildren who lovingly called her “Memaw,” all looked forward to her homemade cakes with chocolate frosting. Everyone especially loved to come to Memaw’s home in Downey during the holidays. She would decorate her house with Christmas trees in almost every room. She would later refer to it as “Christmas on Steroids.” Ramona also enjoyed gardening and in the spring, people would drive by her home to see all of the tulips. She would order the bulbs from Holland every year (pack them in her refrigerator) and plant them in the winter so they would be in bloom at just the right time. She stayed in her beloved Downey for most of her life. After her dementia worsened, she spent her last years in Corona del Mar.

Ramona’s legacy is one of kindness and positivity. She was quick to compliment those around her. She made people smile. Even in her last months when her memory had deteriorated and she was not herself, the one thing that never changed was this … she still focused on the bright side of life. Sitting outside on a bench, she would comment on the green grass, the blue sky, and the beautiful flowers. She was in awe of tall buildings. And until almost her last days, she still never missed See’s Candy whenever we drove by.