ASHEVILLE – A Swannanoa wife and husband killed by Tropical Storm Helene were among those honored with posthumous awards during a candlelight service held Jan. 19 by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Association of Asheville and Buncombe County.
While not the focus of the service, several moments throughout the night lingered on the scars left behind by the storm. Fletcher Mayor Preston Blakely, the keynote speaker, told those in the crowded pews of downtown’s Trinity Episcopal Church to ask themselves what they would do to meet the challenges ahead — to help build a future that reflects the values of equity, dignity and respect for all.
“These trying times have shown us that those who serve others belong at the right hand of God,” he said.
Trinity Episcopal Church Associate Rector Rev. Amy Peterson leads a procession during the 44th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Candlelight Service Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025 at Trinity Episcopal Church in Asheville. Blakely was the keynote speaker for the event.
As a light snow fell downtown, subfreezing temperatures steadily dropping, Shalana Jordan recalled a story of another cold night, less than 2 miles away, and decades earlier.
Her parents, Nola and Robert Ramsuer Jr. died in Helene’s flooding when the storm struck in September and were the first that night to receive MLK Jr. Community Service Awards. Jordan said they were both 70 and married for 46 years.
The story was one told to her after their funeral: About 40 years earlier, near their Montford home, the Ramsuers saw a woman out in the snow and offered her a cup of coffee, food and a ride to a shelter. Jordan said her mother, Nola, gave the woman the coat off her back. Robert met the woman again decades later. The woman then relayed that experience to Jordan after their deaths.
“Those kind of stories are what I’ve heard that’s been really enduring and touching,” Jordan said.
Liz Jones, Nola’s sister, as well as Jordan, offered brief remarks after the award was announced.
“Since September, it’s been a long road. Very special people are in my heart and in my soul …” Jones said. “We’re connected, we’re all connected.”
More: NC releases names of 104 killed due to Tropical Storm Helene, by county of death
More: Jimmy Harbison, veteran who died in Helene floods remembered as ‘loving and caring’ man
‘The fight continues’
When Western North Carolina was ravaged by Helene, it was blue-collar workers that kept communities functioning, Blakely said in his keynote speech, calling the working class the “backbone” of the region. He was elected mayor in 2021 after serving on Fletcher Town Council since 2019. He also sits on Gov. Josh Stein’s Rebuilding Western North Carolina Advisory Committee.
His grandmother is Oralene Anderson Graves Simmons, the founder and longtime organizer of the MLK Jr. Association of Asheville and Buncombe County.
Blakely said the words of Martin Luther King Jr.’s final speech were a “rallying cry” delivered to a group of striking sanitation workers on April 3, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.
Fletcher Mayor Preston Blakely speaks with friends Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025 ahead of the 44th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Candlelight Service at Trinity Episcopal Church in Asheville. Blakely was the keynote speaker for the event.
“Without sanitation workers, Memphis could not function. Yet, these workers were paid as if their work was expendable. The successful resolution of the sanitation labor strike, with higher wages and union recognition, underscore the importance of recognizing the dignity and worth of all workers,” Blakely said. He tied it to the year’s theme, inspired by lines from that same speech: “let us rise up with greater readiness and determination.”
“Let us not romanticize the struggles of working class folk without addressing the barriers that they face,” Blakely said. “Just as the sanitation workers in Memphis fought for fair wages and safe working conditions, many in our communities are still fighting for economic justice.”
Whether it is affordable housing, access to health care or equitable pay, “the fight continues.”
Asheville residents attend the 44th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Candlelight Service Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025 at Trinity Episcopal Church in Asheville.
Who received awards?
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Nola Ramsuer and Robert Ramsuer, Jr. (posthumous)
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Leslie Anderson (posthumous)
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Archdeacon Brenda Gilbert
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Deputy Joseph Gorman and Deputy Josh Sims
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Commissioner Martin Moore
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Vice Mayor Antanette Mosley
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The Rev. Dr. R. Scott White
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Asheville Buncombe Institute of Parity Achievement
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Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity
More: Helene showed MLK Jr.’s dream ‘can be fulfilled’: WNC leaders, Gov. Stein in prayer breakfast
More: How many people are homeless in Asheville? 2025 point-in-time count begins Jan. 28
Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email shonosky@citizentimes.com or message on Twitter at @slhonosky. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville MLK Jr. Candlelight Service honors couple killed in Helene
