Sonja Marie (Haroldson) Ramsey was born in Amery, Wisconsin on October 1, 1937. She was the daughter of John and Letta (Hansen) Haroldson of Little Falls, Wisconsin. She took her last breath on Thursday, November 17, 2016 with both of her children at her side in Amery, after suffering from kidney failure for six weeks.

Sonja was deeply affected by her mother's early death, as she was just five at the time. She loved living in the country and especially loved tending and riding horses. She attended Amery High School and graduated in 1955. She was honored as the Queen of the Amery Fall Festival in 1955. After high school, Sonja attended the University of Wisconsin, River Falls for one year but then moved to St. Paul, Minnesota to work as a clerk/typist for the Shell Oil Company. She enjoyed her independence and moved to Portland, Oregon in 1960 near aunts and uncles who had moved to Oregon from Wisconsin several years earlier. Sonja then worked at the Lloyd Center Ice Rink where she met sporting goods sales representative Robert E. Ramsey. They soon married and became the parents of two children. They moved in 1963 to Northern California, where Sonja continued to reside until 2001. Sonja's marriage to Robert ended in 1969, so she raised her children by herself in Alamo, California.

Sonja loved her free-wheeling and fun life in California, especially driving her convertible car with the top down in sunny California. Her favorite way of greeting people was to give them a big hug. To stay connected to beloved family members, Sonja traveled back to Wisconsin many times while she was living out of state. She especially loved the traditional Norwegian family Christmases in Wisconsin. Her other favorite trips included traveling to Alaska on a cruise, visiting Hawaii, New Orleans, and white water rafting. She loved jazz records and attended many jazz shows and festivals while living in the Bay Area in the 1970's. She never learned to read music but loved to play the piano by ear. She was in her thirties in the 1970s and she knew how to have fun but she also made sure her kids did well in school and was involved with them in Little League baseball and softball.

Sonja went back to college in the early 70's to embark on a nursing career. Although that career did not develop, she used her education and skills to work in the medical field in doctor's offices and later became a licensed audiologist in Walnut Creek, California. After retiring, Sonja moved back to her home town of Amery in 2001. After a bad fall in 2010, and a long rehabilitation, Sonja was able to recover sufficiently to live on her own in Deer Park from 2011 until this final illness took her life.

Preceding Sonja in death were her parents, and her brother, Jack Haroldson. Surviving Sonja are her two children, John (MaryEllen) Ramsey of New Carrollton, Maryland and Carolyn (John) Coyan of Laguna Niguel, California, her beloved grandchildren Kristen, Catherine, Elsa, and Robbie Ramsey and Steven Coyan, her devoted sister Lenore Olson, brother-in-law, Wayne Olson and sister-in-law, Floraine Haroldson. She is also survived by nieces and nephews Don Olson, Keith Olson, Marla Olson, Loren Haroldson and Viann Haroldson and eight great-nieces and great-nephews; seven great-great nieces and great-great nephews, numerous cousins in the United States and Norway, as well as long-time friends in Wisconsin and California.

Funeral services will be at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, November 25, 2016 at the Little Falls Lutheran Church in rural Amery, Wisconsin. There will be a visitation from 10am to 11am at the church prior to the service. Interment will take place at the Little Falls Cemetery. To view a video tribute and sign an online guestbook please visit www.williamsonwhite.com Arrangements were made with the Williamson ~ White Funeral Home in Amery, WI