Ramona Mason (Williams) Adler, 97, of Taunton, passed away at Madonna Manor in North Attleboro on January 17. She was the widow of the late Edgar H. Adler, also of Taunton. Born on February 3, 1921, Ramona, with her three sisters and her parents, grew up in the home of her beloved maternal grandfather Lewis Mason Witherell on Dean Street in Taunton.
Her paternal grandparents, Roger and Hattie Williams, operated a dairy farm and milk delivery business on the other side of town in Westville. Growing up, Ramona was close to her cousins Harriet Carter on her father’s side of the family, and Esther Hill on her mother’s side. After graduating from Taunton High School in 1938, Ramona enrolled at the University of New Hampshire, where she was president of her sorority, Alpha Chi Omega, and was voted “Most Respected” by her senior class.
Despite the untimely death of Ramona’s father Charles, and lean times for the family, Ramona managed to complete her studies, working summers as a waitress in the White Mountains and Martha’s Vineyard, and graduating with a degree in social services in 1942. After college, Ramona was drawn to Boston, where she lived for five years. During the war she was employed making travel reservations for scientists at the Underwater Sound Laboratories at Harvard.
She then moved to the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) in Boston where she arranged travel to Chicago and Los Alamos for scientists working on the top secret Manhattan Project. After the war she was employed repairing electric shavers for Remington Rand. Ramona and Edgar were married on September 13, 1947.
Together, they lovingly raised three children on a 12-acre homestead, formerly a chicken farm, on Center Street in Raynham. The open fields provided the children with space to roam and Edgar, an amateur radio operator, with room to set up antennas for his hobby. On holidays and vacations the children enjoyed times spent with their Weston, Seekell, Bowie, and Windle first cousins, as well as Witherell and Hill second cousins, and Cuzner third cousins.
In order to help her children attend the colleges of their choice, Ramona furthered her education by obtaining a Master of Education degree from Bridgewater State College in 1966, then teaching second and third grade at Leonard School in the Whittenton section of Taunton for 17 years. After her retirement, Ramona volunteered in local schools, played piano at the Raynham Senior Center, and (with Edgar) was active in the Raynham Historical Society. She enjoyed cooking, sewing, quilting, traveling, and spending time with her family.
Ramona is survived by her children Charles and his wife Barbara Clark, Beverly Mattson and her husband Rodney Mattson, and Elaine Lagasse and her husband David Lagasse. She leaves a sister Lucille Bowie of Durham, Maine, as well as ten grandchildren, ten great grandchildren, and many nephews and nieces. Ramona was preceded in death by her sister Lorraine Weston and her husband Harris, her sister Ruth Seekell and her husband Warren, her brother-in-law Frank Bowie, and her great granddaughter Ellie Mattson.
Calling hours will be held on Friday, February 1, 2019, from 10am-11:30am, at the Crapo-Hathaway Funeral Home, 350 Somerset Ave. , Taunton. A brief graveside service will follow at Pleasant Street Cemetery, 687 Pleasant St., Raynham.
At 2pm a memorial service in celebration of Ramona’s life will be held at Murray Unitarian Universalist Church, 505 N. Main St., Attleboro. A reception will follow. Relatives and friends are invited to attend.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Ramona’s memory may be made to the Greater Boston Food Bank, 70 South Bay Avenue, Boston, MA 02118 or the Raynham Historical Society, PO Box 136, Raynham Center, MA 02768.
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