Missionary Ramona Springer

If you want to know who Nunnie was, do not only read about what she accomplished. Listen to the stories. That is where you will find her.

Missionary Ramona Springer — our beloved Nunnie — was born on July 27, 1943, in Little Washington, North Carolina, to Olive “Ollie” Wilkins and Jack Reed Wilkins Sr. She came from a family grounded in faith, perseverance, strength, and service, and those values became the foundation of the woman she would become.

A Love That Crossed an Ocean

One of the greatest blessings of Ramona’s life was the extraordinary love she shared with her husband, Colvin Springer. Their love story began through letters exchanged between Boston and Barbados and grew into a marriage that spanned sixty-three beautiful years.

Their love transcended distance, cultural differences, family expectations, hardship, and the many seasons of life. Together, they built a home rooted in faith, commitment, laughter, sacrifice, and devotion. Their marriage became the foundation upon which generations of children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and the many people she mothered along the way would stand.

Colvin was the love of her life, and she was his.

Their story began when they became pen pals. Long before cell phones, email, or social media made communication easy, they came to know one another through their words. Their letters crossed the distance between Boston and Barbados, and their connection continued to deepen.

When Colvin traveled to the United States, Ramona made the bold decision to go to New York so that she could be the first face he saw when he arrived in America. It was a courageous choice for a young woman of her time. She had to defy expectations and withstand the opinions of others, but Ramona knew her own heart.

That was who she was.

When she believed in something, she stood firmly in it. When she loved, she loved completely.

A Strong-Willed Young Girl

As a child, Ramona was tenacious, observant, quick-minded, and strong-willed. She talked fast, thought fast, and noticed everything happening in the world around her.

She was not a fighter by nature. She was peaceful and preferred to avoid unnecessary conflict. But she also understood that being peaceful did not mean allowing others to mistreat her.

For a long time, there was a young girl who bullied her. Ramona tried to avoid the girl and remain nonviolent, but eventually she reached her limit. One day, she brought the young girl directly to her mother and announced:

“Mama, this is her. I’ve had enough. I’m not dealing with it anymore.”

That story became part of our family history because it captured something essential about her character.

She was gentle, but she was not weak.

She was peaceful, but she knew when enough was enough.

She did not seek confrontation, but when it became necessary to protect herself, her family, or something she believed in, she found the courage to stand. That tenacity remained with her throughout her life.

A Woman of Courage and Determination

Ramona came from strong and brilliant people. Her family roots reached deeply into Little Washington, North Carolina, and her family history included ancestors who endured, served, built, and fought for the generations that followed them. That same spirit of determination lived within her.

She carried it with her when she left North Carolina and made Boston, Massachusetts, her home. She carried it as a young woman pursuing an education. She carried it through marriage, motherhood, ministry, teaching, advocacy, and every challenge she encountered.

Ramona understood that meaningful change often requires courage.

During a significant period of change in Boston and its public schools, she worked alongside families, educators, churches, and community organizations to advocate for children and educational opportunities. She believed children deserved access to knowledge, resources, safety, and the opportunity to succeed. She was willing to speak, organize, support, and stand wherever she believed she could help.

A Life Devoted to Education

Education was one of Ramona’s greatest passions and callings. She earned her Master’s Degree in Education and devoted thirty-eight years of her professional life to teaching within the Boston Public School system. She was also a proud member of the Boston Teachers Association.

For Ramona, teaching was never simply a job.

She believed education could change the direction of a child’s life. She understood that a teacher could become a source of encouragement, guidance, stability, and hope.

She did not only teach lessons from books. She taught children to believe in themselves. She encouraged them to think, to speak, to try again, and to recognize their own possibilities.

Her commitment to children extended beyond the classroom. She worked with families and community organizations to support educational access and opportunity during Boston’s school desegregation and busing era.

To many, she was more than Mrs. Springer.

• A mentor.
• An encourager.
• A listener.
• A steady presence.

She saw children clearly and believed they deserved to be nurtured, protected, and prepared for the world ahead of them.

A Woman of Faith

Above every title and accomplishment stood Ramona’s unwavering faith in God. Missionary Ramona Springer was a devoted member of the Church of God in Christ and faithfully served as a missionary for more than 60 years. She loved her church family deeply and found great purpose in prayer, ministry, encouragement, and service.

But being a missionary was never simply a title she held.

It was the way she lived.

Her faith could be seen in the people she fed, the children she protected, the families she supported, the prayers she prayed, and the encouragement she offered to those who were struggling.

She believed that faith should move beyond words. It should become action. It should comfort someone who is hurting. It should feed someone who is hungry. It should remind people that they still have value, even when the world has made them feel forgotten.

The Man Who Came for Fried Chicken

One day, while Ramona was cooking, a homeless man came near the home. The smell of her fried chicken had traveled outside, and he asked whether he might have something to eat.

Ramona did not turn him away. She fed him.

But she did more than place food in his hands. She spoke to him. She encouraged him. She reminded him that his circumstances did not erase his humanity or his worth. She fed his body, and then she fed his spirit.

That moment was not unusual for her. It represented the way she moved through the world. She saw people others sometimes overlooked, and she treated them with dignity. The way she loved other people’s children, cared for those in need, and extended herself beyond her own household became one of the hallmarks of her life.

If the words “I am my brother’s keeper” had a face, it would look like our mother.

Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody

Ramona had wonderful stories, sayings, and lessons that stayed with her family. One of the stories she loved to share was about Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody:

There was an important job to be done, and Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. In the end, Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

Nunnie loved that little story because it carried a lesson she believed with her whole heart. She reminded us that every person has a responsibility to care for one another, and that we should never wait for someone else to do what we ourselves are capable of doing.

She lived by example, quietly teaching that responsibility begins with each of us.

The Heart of Her Family

Although Ramona earned degrees, titles, and the respect of countless people throughout her life, her greatest joy was never found in awards or accomplishments. It was found at home.

She loved being a wife.

She loved being a mother.

She adored being Nunnie.

Her children were her pride, her grandchildren were her delight, and her great-grandchildren were her joy. She celebrated every milestone, every success, every birthday, every new beginning, and every opportunity to remind them how deeply they were loved.

She also mothered countless young people who simply needed someone to believe in them. Many who were not related by blood still called her family, because that was how she loved.

She never measured people by what they had. She measured them by who they were.

Her Lasting Legacy

When people remember Missionary Ramona Springer, they will remember many things.

• A faithful missionary.
• A devoted educator.
• A community advocate.
• A woman who earned her Master’s Degree and believed education could transform lives.
• A wife whose sixty-three-year marriage stands as a testament to enduring love.
• A mother whose children never questioned whether they were loved.
• A grandmother whose greatest joy was her family.
• A woman whose faith was lived more often than it was spoken.

But perhaps more than anything else, they will remember the way she made people feel.

Seen. Encouraged. Welcomed. Valued. Loved.

She believed that kindness was never wasted. She believed that service was one of the highest expressions of faith. She believed that love was something to be practiced every day.

If someone asked what kind of woman Nunnie was, the answer is simple. She was the kind of woman who quietly made the world around her better.

She lived with courage, taught with wisdom, served with humility, loved without condition, and trusted God through every season of her life.

Her influence lives on in every student she encouraged, every child she nurtured, every prayer she prayed, every family member she loved, and every life she touched.

Her story does not end with her passing.

It continues in all of us.

And if the words “I am my brother’s keeper” could be embodied by one life, they would be found in the life of our beloved Mommy, our beloved Nunnie, Missionary Ramona Springer.