Ramon Romero Sr.

Mass of Christian Burial for Ramon E. Romero, Sr., 88, Lawrence will be held at 10:00 a.m. Friday, February 27, 2009 at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church.  Military Honors will follow in Mt. Calvary Cemetery in Lawrence.  He died February 23, 2009 at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.

He was born July 15, 1920 in Lawrence, KS the son of Juan and Severiana (Ramirez) Romero.  He was a life-long resident of Lawrence.

Mr. Romero graduated from Liberty Memorial High School in 1941 and was the first Mexican –American to graduate from LMH.  He served in the United States Navy during World War II primarily as a crew member of the USS Henry T. Allen.  The Allen was a troop transport ship that was part of “MacArthur’s Navy,”  the joint US and Australian task force that transported troops under the command of General Douglas MacArthur as the US took back South Pacific Islands from the Japanese forces.  He loved Australia and maintained his contact with an Australian family for many decades after the war.  He last visited Brisbane and Sydney when he attended a reunion of the Henry T. Allen ship’s company in 2000.   He worked for the Union Pacific Railroad after the war and retired in 1980.   He raised cattle on his farm south of Lawrence after his retirement.

He was a member of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, the VFW and the USS Henry T. Allen Alumni Association.

He married Virginia Leanos in 1946 in Lawrence.  She survives of the home.

Other survivors include three sons, Ramon, Jr. “Rick” of  San Francisco, CA; Antonio “Tony” and his wife, Kyoko of Pacifica, CA; Michael, and his wife, Amy of Lawrence; two daughters, Judy of Lawrence; Guadalupe “Lupe”  Romero Kosa and her husband Rodney of  Shawnee; a brother, Valentin of Lawrence and six grandchildren, Christina and Antonio of Pacifica, CA; Rosalina and her husband, Brent of Omaha, NE; Jason,  Adrianne and her husband, Seth and Andrew all of Lawrence, one great granddaughter, Evelyn and many nieces and nephews.

A rosary will be said at 7:00 p.m. Thursday, February 26, 2009 with the visitation to follow the rosary at the Warren-McElwain Mortuary.

Family suggests memorials in his name to American Lung Association of Kansas and may be sent in care of the mortuary.
Online condolences may be sent to www.warrenmcelwain.com  Subject:  Romero.