BATAVIA—Deacon Kenneth Raymond (Ken) Ramsey Sr. died on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023, at the age of 75 years. 

 

He was born on March 24, 1948, in Aurora, to Corrine (née Weber) Murtaugh and Theodore Ramsey and grew up in the Batavia Highlands in a section of the Geneva School District. He attended elementary school at St. Peter School in Geneva and graduated from Geneva High School in 1966. 

 

In 1967, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving until 2008. He was trained in Military Intelligence and was an interrogator and interpreter in the Vietnam War. 

 

Ken served with the 25th Infantry Division in Vietnam, earning a Bronze Star Medal, an Army Commendation Medal with Cluster, a Purple Heart and several others. He also served at both the Pentagon in the Pentagon Counterintelligence Unit and taught at the Army Intelligence School. He spoke four additional languages (French, Vietnamese, Spanish and Bulgarian) while serving his country on five of the seven continents. Prior to his retirement from the military, he had his last call to duty during Operation Desert Storm but was not deployed overseas. 

 

He attended National Louis University, earning a bachelor’s degree in Applied Behavioral Science and a masters’ degree in Theology. Ken was the past Commander of VFW Post 1197. He also served as an alderman for the City of Batavia for eight years, and was past president of the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association and previous international president of FBI National Academy Associates.

 

Ken was united in marriage to Margaret (née Adam) Ramsey on May 22, 1971 at St. Joseph Parish in Aurora.

 

He was a patrolman for the Batavia Police Department from 1971-1974, then worked at the Kane County Sheriffs’ Office. He was elected Kane County Sheriff in 1994, serving three consecutive terms. To date, he is the longest serving sheriff in Kane County history. 

 

After his retirement, Ken decided to follow his lifelong love of his faith and became an ordained deacon in the Catholic Church. After being ordained in 2014, he was assigned to Holy Cross Church in Batavia.

 

He is survived by his wife of 52 years Margaret (née Adam) Ramsey; his children, Andrea (Branden) Gentry of Aurora, Kenneth Ramsey Jr. of Geneva, Laura Heffley of Batavia, and Theresa (Todd) McCrea of Elburn, and his honorary daughter Debbie (née McMinamen) Brady; his 10 grandchildren: Ashleigh, Connor and Dylan Gentry; Abigail Ramsey; Peyton, Grace and Tyler Heffley; and Alana, Hayleigh, and Logan McCrea; his sister, Diana (Roger) Dean of St. Charles, and brother Rick Ramsey of Ft. Meyers, Florida; sister-in-law Mary Anne (Donald) Weber of Wisconsin, sister-in-law Mona Adam of Sugar Grove; brother-in-law John Adam of Aurora; many nieces and nephews, including both his goddaughters Debbie Andras and Jennifer Zitko; and dear friend Virginia Gotsch.

 

He was preceded in death by a son, Thomas Joseph, in infancy; his parents; his in-laws Zita and Eugene Adam; brother-in-law Dave Adam; and sister-in-law Jeanie (née Adam) Walt and brother-in-law Gerry Walt, as well as several aunts and uncles, and a very special Brother in Arms, Irwin (Junior) Gotsch.

 

Visitation was Aug. 23, 2023 at Holy Cross Church, 2300 Main St., Batavia. Funeral was Aug. 24, 2023 at Holy Cross Church. Interment at Resurrection Catholic Cemetery, 37W210 Fabyan Pkwy, Geneva.