Obituary of Myrna Ramona Marteney

Ramona S. Marteney of Buckhannon, West Virginia, died peacefully March 4, 2022, in Pittsburgh with her daughter at her side.  She was born in her mother’s home on a cold December 11th, 1937, in Sand Fork, West Virginia, the daughter of Rhuel Stout and Madaline (Groves) Stout. The rural setting of Sand Fork and Dusk Camp in Gilmer County was the stage for so many of Mom’s stories, which often involved a great deal of walking—walking to her grandmother Groves’ house, walking back and forth to school with her father Rhuel, and walking up the hill to bring in the cows.  One day, while starting out on a walk on her own in a declared attempt to run away from home as just a very young girl, and after waiting for her mother to pack her a sandwich for her journey, her Grandpa Groves surprised her by picking her up with his horse and buggy and coaxing her home.  This was possibly one of the happiest days of young Ramona’s life.  She retold this story many times, and she never ran away from home again. She told so many stories of her experiences there. One day, while explaining to one of her granddaughters how to properly cut a grapefruit, she talked about the time she was nearly fired from her dietician job for helping the workers in the kitchen with cutting grapefruits when they were low on staff one day. She was reprimanded and almost fired several times, for helping and treating those with skin color different than hers as her equal the way her parents had taught her, but could not be convinced to do otherwise. Ramona later served as a guidance counselor for many years at Lewis County High School where she helped and encouraged so many. Her example of the many ways we can express God’s love and show kindness and generosity towards others is one of her greatest gifts to her family and friends.  Ramona’s Christian faith weaved its way through all of her life. Those that share stories of Ramona nearly always start the story, “She was so kind…” followed by a story of how she touched their life or of how they witnessed her acts of kindness to others. Ramona was a dedicated member of First Baptist Church in Buckhannon, West Virginia, where she served in many capacities over the years, and was a member of the choir, singing at every opportunity. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband Jim. She is survived by her three children, sons Steve Marteney of Cottonwood Heights, Utah and Paul Marteney of Vienna, West Virginia; daughter Donna Ficca and husband Jeremy of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania; sister Joyce Edgell of Buckhannon; and three granddaughters, from youngest to oldest: Natalie Grace Ficca, Isobella Sophia Tatiana Marteney, and Madeline Elizabeth Ficca. Private services were held for the family. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.polingstclair.com. Poling-St. Clair Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.