Helen Jo Toma Ramey, 90, of Irving, TX died on August 10, 2024 in Georgetown, TX. Funeral service will be 11:00 AM, Saturday, August 17, 2024 at the Colonial Funeral Home Chapel, 606 West Airport Freeway, Irving, TX. Burial will follow at the Oak Grove Memorial Gardens in Irving. Family and friends may visit, Saturday, August 17th from 10:00 AM until service time. She was born in Tipton, OK in 1934 to Josephine Massad Toma and Joe E. Toma. She grew up in Snyder, Oklahoma, in a Lebanese-American family. She attended Snyder High School, Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State University), received her M.D. at the University of Oklahoma, interned at Harbor General Hospital UCLA, did her residency at Baylor University Medical Center, and a fellowship in pediatric radiology at Children's Medical Center, Dallas. She married Dayne Warren Ramey and settled in Irving, Texas in the early 1960s. Along with her career in medicine she raised three children, was a longtime member of Irving North Christian Church and many civic organizations. She attended Snyder High School, which denied her the title of valedictorian because of her heritage despite having the best grades in the school. The experience left her indignant, but she went on to major in bacteriology at OSU. Her professors encouraged her to apply for medical school though it was uncommon for women to attend, provided the application and helped her complete it. During her interview, the all-male panel asked her, "What are the limitations of women in medicine?" She said, "I dont see any." She graduated from OU medical school in 1960. When she started medical school, the medical school was accepting only 5% women. She had a 30-year career at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth as a radiologist for the 40-bed neonatal unit. While at JPSH, she testified as an expert witness in several child abuse cases and more recently contributed to Boston-based research on "shaken baby syndrome." There are 21 physicians, including four women, in her family. The tradition started with Sir Samuel El Kouri, her great uncle who was a surgeon in Cairo, Egypt, who was knighted by Queen Victoria. Her granddaughter Mollie Biewald is a palliative care physician at Mt. Sinai, NYC. Most recently, her granddaughter Tranette Le completed her EMT licensure at age 18. So, the tradition lives on! She was preceded in death by her parents Joe and Josephine Toma, husband Dayne Ramey, siblings Bettye Pinkston, Victor Toma, and Suzelle Hovis, and nephew Johnny Pinkston. She is survived by her sister Janine Moorad of Tulsa, OK, brothers AJ Toma and Jim Bob Toma of Snyder, OK; children Joe (Tunie) Ramey of Dallas, Jeannie (Bruce Biewald) Ramey of Cambridge, MA, Jeff (Kathy) Ramey of Cedar Park, TX; grandchildren Lukas, Mollie, Georgia, Izaak, Emmett, Roza, Tranette and Wynston; three great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. There are no gallery images. Visitation Saturday, August 17, 2024 10:00 AM Colonial Funeral Home Chapel 606 West Airport Freeway Irving, TX 75062 Funeral Service Saturday, August 17, 2024 11:00 AM Colonial Funeral Home Chapel 606 West Airport Freeway Irving, TX 75062