Ramona, born Ramona Adeline Freeman on September 4, 1932, in Warrensburg, Missouri, was Rose and Ray Freeman’s only child. She called them "her miracle," the greatest blessings of her life. They felt the same about her.

She graduated from Classen High School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and received her B.A. from the University of Oklahoma. In 1971, she graduated cum laude from the Law Center of the University of Houston and was admitted to the State Bar of Texas. On that occasion, as one of the top two scorers on the bar examination, she was invited to deliver the address to the Texas Supreme Court.

From the very beginning, her practice focused on juvenile and family law. In 1989, she was appointed as Associate Judge of the 313th and 315th District Courts, juvenile courts in Harris County, Texas. In 1993, she became judge of the 313th District Court in Houston.

Later in her career, she joined the staff of the Texas Attorney General, where she began as Special Counsel to Administration and rose to lead the Texas child support division.

Over the course of her career, she impacted the lives of thousands of families and children. Upon her retirement, the Texas Attorney General presented her with a plaque, thanking her for, “your service to Texas and the children of our state” and for, “your leadership, wisdom and courage.”

Among the many positions and memberships she held during her career are: Chair of the Juvenile Law section of the Houston Bar Association; member of the Family Law and Juvenile Law committees of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges; member of the Advisory Board of Court Appointed Special Advocates, (CASA), of Harris County, Texas; member of the Advisory Board of Juvenile Court Volunteers of Harris County; member of the Advisory Council, Harris County Juvenile Board; and Member of the Advisory Committee, Harris county Juvenile Detention Center.

Ramona taught law as an associate adjunct professor at both South Texas College of Law and the Law Center of the University of Houston.

After she retired, Ramona embraced a second career as a writer. An earlier book, "The Way It Is," had been published by Tenneco, as a public service to Houston Schools. Her book, "Children and the Law in Texas, What Parents Should Know," was published by The University of Texas Press. She and Dick were avid European travelers, and her book, “Fun in Europe, A Travel Guide for Grown-ups,” was published in 2002. Her short stories have appeared in literary journals and her articles have been published in numerous magazines and newspapers.

She is survived by her beloved husband, Dick John, whom she married in 1962, divorced in 1975, and remarried in 1978 after their divorce utterly failed. Other survivors are: dearly loved step-children of over fifty years, Richard John, Judith Chesshir, Nancy John, and Michael John, and their spouses; eight step-grandchildren; and  several step great-grandchildren ; sister-in-law, Jo Anne Cottle, her husband Jim and her children Barbara and John; second cousins, John and Jean Freeman and Tom and Joi Freeman; former brother-in-law Don Boyles, and many cherished friends. She was preceded in death most recently by Greta, the German Shepherd, and Jolly Jake, the mutt, last in the long line of dogs who brought such joy to her life.

Ramona was a Christian and a member of Unity Church of Fort Worth. She believed that each of us is  a beloved Child of God, that He lives within us all, that wherever we are, He is, and that love --- His and ours --- is all that really matters.

SOULS AND DANDELIONS

by Ramona John     (.. as she began what would be the last year of her life.)

My soul, like the down-soft fluff of a dandelion, borne on a gentle rush of breeze, arrived with my first breath, and I became me. In that moment, I knew all truth, and embraced all wisdom, and I was whole. Like a photo fading to gray, it vanished, and I could only cry for what was gone, for what had been a part of me in that one shining moment. I can not remember what I knew, only that I knew it and that it was everything that mattered. I think the years of my life have been spent searching for what was lost. Parts of it I have found in love, in laughter, in moments of dream fulfillment, and sometimes, in flashes of understanding, as my eyes met those of another, or my heart felt at one with the soaring notes of some symphony or the lines of a poem. But I have never known the sense of being whole, complete, that I held for that brief moment when my soul left the source of all souls and became only me. One day a gentle rush of  breeze will come again, and my soul, like the down-soft fluff of a dandelion, will release its hold, rise and sail away home, and it will sing again, fulfilled, joyous complete. I think of that when I pick a dandelion whose golden days are past and, with a gentle nudge of breath, send the softness that remains flying away to be reborn.

The John family has been blessed by your expressions of love and concern.

Thank you all.