Ramona Behrends Tyson
August 30, 1957 - January 22, 2018
In life's tough moments, you can cry or you can choose to laugh. Ramona Rae Behrends Tyson preferred the latter. The Lord called her home on January 22, 2018 at 60 years old, and she is undoubtedly laughing (probably louder than appropriate) and rejoicing with family members and friends who have answered the call before her, including her parents, Raymond "Ray" and Joan "Jodie" (Catcott) Behrends.
A Yankee girl by birth (bless her heart), born on August 30, 1957 in Peoria, IL, her family moved to Perry, GA when she was 16. She expressed her disgust with the relocation by refusing to wear anything but overalls for weeks. The whole arrangement turned out to be serendipitous, however, as she married Anthony "Tony" W. Tyson, a good Southern boy from Perry, on August 19, 1978 after completing her Bachelor of Art in English at the University of Georgia.
The next years of her life were devoted to being a wife and raising her 4 children in Portal, GA. She wiped countless noses, bottoms, and tears; she created exciting educational opportunities from the daily events of life on the farm; and she put out lots of fires. (Literally. It happens with 3 boys.) After providing her kids with a solid foundation at home, she shared her colorful stories and love of learning with students at Portal High School for 14 years teaching 8th-10th grade English, French, and Drama.
Ramona was not one to get emotional about her kids growing up; in fact, she often spoke of her goal to train up independent, adventurous adults. Her success in that regard is easily noted with her children’s locale over the years ranging from Brazil to Mississippi to Florida and back again. Despite their busy and varying lives, her four children [Travis (and Brianna Hubbard) Tyson of Kennesaw, GA, Emily (and Eric) Zieser of Racine, WI, Justin (and Casie Parrott) Tyson of Danielsville, GA, and Nathan (and Megan Brannen) Tyson of Tifton, GA] always look forward to coming together for many raucous rounds of Scattergories during holidays and camping together in the summer. And though she made it a point to mother more than befriend her own offspring, she prided herself on being a fun aunt to her 9 nieces and nephews.
Time spent with her own siblings brought out her vivacious sense of humor: Susan Peterson of Las Cruces, NM, Doug Behrends of Venice, FL, and John (and Jamie) Behrends of Kennesaw, GA, and sister-in-law, Mary Behrends of Clarkesville, GA. She regularly pointed out her position as favorite (okay, and only) daughter-in-law to Willie and Barbara Tyson of Perry, GA and she kept family gatherings entertaining with Tony's sisters and their husbands: Reuben and Betsy Flanders of Waycross, GA and Edmond and Jody Strickland of Perry, GA.
The final years of her life were lived in the shadows of Alzheimer's disease - the woman who shared her life story through hilarious recollections of events, lost all her memories. She and Tony dreamed of and planned for a retirement full of travel and adventure (on a motorcycle, she always claimed, with Tony in a side car.) Instead, her husband of 39 years became her dedicated care provider. She had many days of visiting with her 11 grandchildren, but she never realized they were anything more than some cute kids who happened to be hanging out with her. Gabriela Zieser, Lilian Zieser, Avalee Tyson, Ellery Tyson, Makayla Zieser, Elam Tyson, Wyatt Tyson, Jensen Zieser, Gracie Tyson, Avett Tyson, and Holden Zieser loved their MoMo, and she would have been ecstatic to know what she and Tony started!
A celebration of Ramona’s life will be held Friday, January 26 at 2:00 pm at Lord and Stephens Athens East Chapel, 4355 Lexington Road, Athens, Georgia with a graveside service to follow. The family will received visitors Thursday, January 25 5:00-8:00 pm at the same location. Memorial donations are suggested to the Alzheimer’s Association or Georgia 4-H Foundation.

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