Obituary of Gerardo Ramirez

Gerardo Ramirez, 63, of Freehold Township passed away at home with his loving wife and son holding his hands on Sunday, September 27, 2020. He courageously battled glioblastoma brain cancer for 53 months, making his a long term GBM survivor.  He was born and raised in Lerida, Colombia and came to the United States over 30 years ago.  He studied veterinarian medicine at La Salle University in Colombia and later attended Brookdale Community College participating in the ESL program. Gerardo owned and operated Gerardo’s Catering out of Freehold for fifteen years. He had also worked at The Cabin Restaurant and Luchento’s Ristorante, and most recently as the assistant to the executive chef at Trump National Golf Club.   Gerardo loved literature, had a passion and talent for writing short stories, and was the facilitator of the Spanish Book Club at the Monmouth County Library. Gerardo’s warm smile, big heart, gentle soul, and quick wit will be sadly missed by all that knew him. A parishioner of the Co-Cathedral of St. Robert Bellarmine, Gerardo loved nothing more than spending time with his family.

He was predeceased by his father, Antolin Ramirez Lozada; brother, Antolin Ramirez; and dogs, Buddy and Prince.  Gerardo is survived by his loving wife of 23 years, Mary Ellen Ramirez; children, Robert Mason and Viviana Ramirez; granddaughter, Liana Mason; mother Carlina Ramirez Gutierrez; sisters, Myriam Baynam; Mabel Montaña Ramirez; Beatriz Metz Ramirez; Jenny Càrmenza Ramirez Gutierrez; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.

The family wishes to thank the Central NJ Brain Tumor Support Group at Hope Tower and the American Brain Tumor Association for their continued assistance and support during Gerardo’s illness.  They would also like to take this opportunity to thank the numerous nurses and doctors at Monmouth Medical Center that were involved in his care.

Visitation will be held at the Clayton & McGirr Funeral Home, 100 Elton-Adelphia Road (Route 524), Freehold Township on Thursday, October 1, 2020 from 4:00 to 8:00 PM and will also be available via the funeral home website at https://claytonfuneralhome.com/77/Webcast.html.  Relatives and friends are invited to gather at the funeral home on Friday, October 2, 2020 at 9:00 AM for the procession to his 10:00 AM Funeral Mass at the Co-Cathedral of St. Robert Bellarmine, 61 Georgia Road, Freehold Township.  Interment will follow in Marlboro Memorial Cemetery & Mausoleum, Marlboro.  For the safety of the public and our staff, we are asking everyone to help us adhere to the CDC guidelines. Facemasks will be required. For information, directions or condolence messages to the family, visit www.claytonfuneralhome.com