Maria Dionisia Bezerra Ramirez, 77, of Dunlap, passed away on Nov. 5, 2017, surrounded by her family and friends. She was born on April 8, 1940, in Ceara, Brazil, to Alfredo and Maria Antonia Bezerra. She was a member of First Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Chattanooga. Following their move from Chattanooga to Dunlap, they attended First Baptist Church. To her family, she was known as Mimi, and to her friends she was Dee. She met her husband, Joseph Ramirez, at a church function in Brazil while he was visiting friends. Joseph says he knew from the moment he saw her, she was the woman he would marry. Together they raised three children, eleven grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. She was a seamstress who owned Rivermont Sewing Shop. While Dee may not have been able to boil a pot of water, she could grow any plant and spent many of her days outside gardening and doting on her grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents: Alfredo and Maria Antonia Bezerra; her siblings: Louis, Aderson, and Adelia.
She is survived by her husband, Joseph; her children: Joseph Ramirez Jr. , Sandra (Ken) Crabtree, and Randy (Kristi) Ramirez; her grandchildren: Joseph Ramirez III, David, John, Luke, and Joel Crabtree, Josh (Alyssa), Caleb, and Gabrielle Ramirez, Katie and Kristen Boynton, Ashley (Anthony) Cook; two great grandchildren: Remy and Rhys Ramirez; her siblings: Estella (Ron) Cooper, Afonso, Alberio, Ana, Francisca, Josè, Laura, Mosa, and João; and her extended family: Anita Sims, Lynn Harmon, and Mary Lou Brown.
Visitation will be held Saturday, Nov. 11 from 11 a.m.-noon, with a service to follow at noon at Ewton Funeral Home Chapel.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks you to please send a plant for Mimi's memory garden.