Mrs. Sarah Kathern Ramsey, 83, of Nicholasville, passed away peacefully at her home, surrounded by her loving family on Sunday, May 29, 2022. She was born on February 5, 1939 at Bimble, the daughter of Jim Tom Broughton and Myrtle Mills Broughton.
Her father was a coal miner and she was proud to be called a coal miner’s daughter. On Sept. 6, 1958, she was united in marriage to Kenneth Lee Ramsey and together they had four children. She attended Duke University and is a graduate of Union College in Barbourville class of 1962. After earning a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education, she taught grades one through eight in a one room school house on Jeff’s Creek in rural Knox County. As a school teacher and also a Sunday school teacher, she believed in the value of education and has been the driving force in encouraging her family to succeed and become life-long learners. Sarah Kathern’s life was full of the joy she found in her interests and as a natural teacher she passed on passions to her entire family. She was an avid reader and genealogist, who did extensive research on her and her husband’s family ancestries and histories. She found the outdoors as a place of great happiness. She raised gardens and won many blue ribbons for her beautiful irises. She loved animals and cared deeply for her horses. Sarah Kathern traveled the world with her husband and family. Two of her favorite trips were watching her horses run in front of the Queen at Royal Ascot in London, England and her tour of the Holy Land. Sarah Kathern and her family moved to Lexington in 1970, where she worked as the office manager at Ken Ramsey Realty, Inc. She was the backbone of the business and a huge credit to its great success. She went on to own and to operate a cellular telephone market in the Gainesville, GA area. In 1994, she and her husband purchased the Almahurst Farm, renamed it Ramsey Farm and started a thoroughbred breeding operation in addition to their racing stable. As a partner with her husband, she won more races in the state of Kentucky than any other owner in the history of the sport. She has been inducted into the Union College Business Hall of Fame as well as the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame. In addition to her numerous business accomplishments and her vast interests, she was deeply dedicated to her family. She was a Cub Scout and Girl Scout leader for her children. She organized the Broughton and Ramsey family reunions for over 30 years. She was the roots to which her family has been able to thrive, grow and to believe in themselves the way she believed in them. Most of all she was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother who dearly loved her family.
She is survived by her husband of 63 years, Kenneth Lee Ramsey; three sons, Scott Keith and wife, Karen Sue, Jeffrey Kent and wife, Patricia Esther, and Kelly Grant and wife, Lisa Michelle, and a daughter, Jill and husband, Kenneth; a brother, Bradford Broughton and wife, Jo Allen; six grandchildren, Rebecca Ramsey Papadinis and husband, Jeremy, Kathern Elizabeth Ramsey, Nolan Grant Ramsey and wife, Kathryn Lynn, William Kenneth Ramsey, Stephanie Esther Ramsey, Kera Michelle Ramsey; two great granddaughters, Ella Paignton Papadinis and Emily Kathryn Ramsey; a brother-in-law, Keith Allen Ramsey and wife, Dean; a sister-in-law, Lou Ann McElvain and husband, Pat. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews who mourn her passing.
Her funeral service will be conducted at the East Barbourville Baptist Church, 279 Old US 25, Barbourville, Saturday, June 4 at 2 P.M. with Rev. Ricky Broughton and Rev. James Vandy officiating. She will be laid to rest across the street in the Barbourville Cemetery.
Casket bearers will be David Dwayne Broughton, Kenneth Adams, William Nelson Bingham, Henry Edward “Eddie” Miles, Bryon Ramsey, Jeremy Papadinis, Nolan Grant Ramsey and William Kenneth Ramsey. Honorary bearers will be Don Lane, Joe Vice, Jim Elam, Evy Hopkins, James “Stiffy” Miles, Kenneth Campbell, Stanley Lawson, Mark Partridge, Jack Fisher, Dave Hooper and Robert H. Perkins.
The family would like to offer a special thank you to Dr. Connie Jennings who not only gave her exceptional care but became a cherished personal friend. Thanks also go out to Dr. Sara S. Salles, Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital and all the other caregivers who have taken care of her.
Friends may call at the Kerr Brothers Funeral Home, 3421 Harrodsburg Rd., Lexington Thursday, June 2 between 6 and 9 P.M., at the Knox Funeral Home, 325 Knox Street, Barbourville Friday, June 3 between 6 and 9 P.M. and also at the East Barbourville Baptist Church Saturday, June 4 after 12 Noon until the funeral hour.
Expressions of sympathy may go to the Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Farm, Permanently Disabled Jockey’s Fund, Blue Grass Farm Charities or to the American Stroke Association in her memory.
Local arrangements are under the direction of the Knox Funeral Home.
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