Mary Jolene Ramaker

Mary Jolene Ramaker, Known as Jo, died May 29, 2026, after a long illness. She was 78, and she was deeply loved.

Born and raised in Montana, she lived with her family in the town of Choteau and at her family’s timber mill in the nearby Bob Marshall Willderness. Those experiences formed a deep respect and love for the big sky and the natural world.

Jo graduated from Choteau High School in 1966, earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Montana, master’s from University from Idaho, and finished her Ph.D. in 1992 at Oregon State University. She lived in Seattle for a time and worked at Olympic College in Bremerton, Washington, for many years as a counseling faculty member and in other roles. Jo moved to the Olympia area and retired, joining the Panorama community with her wife in 2018.

She enjoyed friends, travel, photography, and golf and was always reading a book. Jo is survived by her wife, and partner of 42 years, Cindy Morana; her sister Rite Johnson, her brother Jim Ramaker, and many nieces and nephews. If you are moved to do so, in lieu of flowers, please contribute to the scholarship fund set up in honor of her parents, Joseph H and Mary J Ramaker, at Olympic College.