Ramsey Lazenby Chaplin

Ramsey Lazenby Chaplin, 78, passed away peacefully on the morning of August 22, 2023 in the presence of his loving wife, Phyllis. His son Chris spoke to him on the telephone from Houston, Texas just a few hours before his passing.

As God arranged it, in the early hours of that morning, the angels quietly ushered Ramsey to The Lord.

Ramsey, the eldest of three children, was born February 19, 1945 to Vandalyn and Harold Chaplin in Montgomery, Alabama. He lived most of his childhood and young adulthood in Birmingham, Alabama. He attended Mountain Brook Junior High School, Shades Valley High School, Marion Institute, and graduated from Auburn University in December 1968.

Early in life, Ramsey met Phyllis DiBenedetto, his wife and partner in life. They have one son, Christopher, and two grandchildren, Alexander and Gabrielle, all of whom reside in Houston, Texas.

Ramsey, as his family and friends knew him, was always a fun-loving person who could tell the best and funniest stories. Perhaps the stories were a little embellished by they were hilarious and even funnier every time he repeated them.

Ramsey spent the greatest portion of his sales career in pharmaceutical sales, working with Squibb Pharmaceutical and Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) Pharmaceutical, beginning in 1974 through 2007. Ramsey and Phyllis also lived in Metairie, Louisiana for four years as he worked in a different area of sales prior to his BMS career.

Ramsey was a big sports fan and loved Braves baseball and Alabama football, although he was an Auburn graduate. One year, his father-in-law Gildo Salvatory Flaviano James DiBenedetto, who was an Auburn fan, threw Ramsey out of the house for cheering Alabama through a close win over Auburn.

Ramsey loved the outdoors. He had the most beautiful rose garden for a number of years until his wife, Phyllis, took over its care. He loved to walk and listen to Braves baseball. He normally walked for two hours each day, rain or shine.

Ramsey had the biggest heart for the poor and needy. He oversaw the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry at Holy Name Catholic Church in Niceville for a number of years and worked with St. Vincent de Paul in Florence, Alabama as well during the 1980s and 1990s.

He served as an Usher and Greeter at Christ Our Redeemer Catholic Church where he and Phyllis have been devoted members since 1995.

Ramsey will forever be remembered by those that knew and loved him as being a devoted husband, a wonderful father and grandfather, a fabulous storyteller, and a faithful and working member of the Catholic Churches he attended. We will never let go of those memories.

The Chaplin family wishes to express their most sincere appreciation to the families of Dr. Kapil Puri, Dennis Phillips, as well as so many others for their hard work in preparing for Ramsey’s Thursday services.

In lieu of flowers and gifts, the family requests that monetary donations to the following organizations be considered: Tunnel to Towers, Samaritan’s Purse, St. Jude’s Hospital.

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