Barbara Ann Ramsay

Barbara Ann Ramsay, 91, of Los Alamos, New Mexico, left us on July 29, 2025, to join her late husband John on their new and grandest adventure. Born in Madison, Wisconsin, to Raymond and Ann (Wildeman) Hilsenhoff, Barbara lived an extraordinary life full of love, motherhood, horsemanship, and adventure.

Barbara was preceded in death by her husband, John; her parents; her brother, William (Bill) Hilsenhoff, and his wife, Jane; and her son-in-law, Lou Horak. She is survived by her children, Bryan (Conchita) Ramsay, Kathleen Ramsay (Lou Horak, deceased), Carol (Alan) Black, and David (Susan) Ramsay. She was blessed with six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

Barbara’s early life in Wisconsin served as a foundation for her future. Living in a friendly neighborhood provided her with many friends her age and evening Kick the Can and Hide and Seek games were a ritual. Barbara had an uncanny relationship with all kinds of animals, beginning with her kitten, Fuzzy, who was followed by rabbits, ducks, a snake, dogs (“borrowed” from the neighbors), and eventually, her true calling, a horse.

At age 11 she took up riding horses. She and a friend had two months of daily riding lessons at a stable. She rode Jumper (Woodpar), who was later sold from the stable. She put together a “hope chest” for getting a horse. It was an old trunk and she bought brushes and a curry comb along with a saddle and bridle. They tracked Jumper down and her parents bought her for $150 as an 8th grade graduation present under the condition that she pay for all her upkeep, which included a lot of baby sitting, detassling corn, and working at a department store candy counter. Thereafter, she was the most dedicated horsewoman; riding trails, competing in horse shows, dressage, jumping competitions, and teaching others the skills and passion of horsemanship. This love never left her. In 2009 Barbara became a member of The Dressage Foundation’s Century Club, recognizing senior dressage horses and riders whose combined ages totaled 100. Barbara rode into her 80s.

After high school Barbara attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison pursuing a degree in Home Economics. There she met John Ramsay in Hoofers, a student outdoor organization. John was president of the Mountaineers and she was president of the Riding Club. One evening she asked John for help with chemistry and he replied “if it isn’t too difficult.” She didn’t know that he was a chemistry graduate student. A short time later they went to a movie, “Cyrano de Bergerac”, to try to get his girlfriend jealous. That was the start of their relationship. She learned to climb at Devil’s Lake and John rode Jumper. They were married in 1953 and were married for 69 years.

Shortly after marrying, John accepted a job at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory and they moved to Los Alamos in 1954. John lured her to New Mexico with the promise of 360 days of sunshine a year. John introduced Barb to the wild outdoors, teaching her to rock climb, backpack into the mountains, hike down in caves, raft rivers, camp in the snow, and more. All the while, her passion for horses never subsided.

1954 also saw the arrival of their first child, Bryan. Kathleen, Carol, and David followed. Barbara was the best stay-at-home mom for their four children. She was a great teacher and mentor, whether it be cooking, baking, cleaning, sewing, knitting, embroidery, horse riding, animals, hiking, skiing, or trekking. She instilled a deep love for animals and the outdoors in all of her children and an appreciation for responsibility, especially animal husbandry. Along with the horses, she brought home puppies, kittens, goats, chickens, geese, and allowed ravens, bunnies, snakes, and others to share her home. She continued passing these traits and lessons on to her grandchildren as well.

In 1970 Barb and John took a break from Los Alamos and moved to Saudi Arabia for three years. They took the opportunity to travel the back country of Saudi Arabia and traveled in the Middle East and Europe in the summertime with the children. Barb, of course, also found a horse stable for riding. She took a job as the secretary to the administrative advisor to the college president at the College of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran. This overseas adventure developed a serious travel bug for Barb and John.

They returned in 1973 to their home (and horses) in Pajarito Acres, which they helped develop in 1963. With the kids in school or college, Barb was hired at the Laboratory as a secretary and later a technical assistant, until her retirement in 1993.

After retirement, Barb kept active with horsemanship. In addition to riding and lessons, she and John started to travel more in the United States, Europe, Antarctica, Central and South America, Scandinavia, Canada, and more. Often their children or grandchildren would accompany them. She lived life to the fullest, but especially appreciated her time with family.

A mass and reception will be held Friday, Oct. 3, at 10 a.m. at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Los Alamos. The family requests that remembrances be made in the form of contributions to the Land of Enchantment Wildlife Foundation (https://lewf.org) or The Horse Shelter (https://thehorseshelter.org/).