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PAUL ALLEN RAMSEY

PAUL ALLEN RAMSEY

Paul Allen Ramsey, 92, a pioneer of the Hollywood and Los Angeles real estate industry, passed away after a cerebral hemorrhage and stroke in Newport Beach, with his family at his bedside. 

Born and raised in Des Moines, he graduated from North High in Des Moines in 1940, and then attended Drake University and later George Washington University in Washington, D.C. while working as an agent trainee for the Federal Bureau of Investigation before being drafted into the United States Army early during World War II. During his tenure in the United States Army, Paul Ramsey rose to the level of Sergeant. Upon leaving the United States Army at the conclusion of World War II, he moved directly to Hollywood, California. 

During his early years in Hollywood, he was the Circulation Manager for the local Hollywood newspaper, the Hollywood Citizen-News, and attended the University of Southern California. 

In 1949, he married Florence Patricia Paul of Los Angeles. 

In 1953, with his longtime friend, Leland Shilling, Paul Ramsey founded the Ramsey-Shilling Company, and by the end of the decade, built the Ramsey-Shilling Company into one of Los Angeles’ leading real estate brokerage firms, with a particular focus in serving Hollywood and the entertainment industry in Hollywood, the Hollywood Hills, Toluca Lake and Studio City. During the 1960’s, he expanded into real estate development, and commercial real estate brokerage, forming Ramsey-Shilling Commercial, where he remained Chairman until the recent acquisition of Ramsey-Shilling Commercial by Avison Young. 

In 1974, Paul Ramsey founded the Toluca Lake Tennis Club on a site adjacent to Warner Brothers Studios and Universal City in Toluca Lake and remained a significant owner in what now is the Toluca Lake Tennis & Fitness Center until his death. In 2001, he acquired the Newport Beach Yacht Club in Newport Beach, where he was very active until his death, and for most of the last decade, led the operation of The Tennis Club at Newport Beach in Newport Center. 

In 2007, in Mount Ayr, Iowa, Paul Ramsey founded Heartland Energy Solutions, LLC, a leading manufacturer of small commercial wind turbines, and remained Chairman of Heartland until his death. Beginning in the 1990’s, he also established the Lesanville Inn and the Pavilion event center on the historic site of the 1850’s Lesan farm in Mount Ayr, where he fondly spent many of his childhood summers with his aunt and uncle.

Over the years, Paul Ramsey served on many boards including the Iowa Barn Foundation and was also a founding director of the Bank of Hollywood. For years, he maintained numerous civic and business affiliations including both the Hollywood and Toluca Lake Chambers of Commerce. 

Paul Ramsey is survived by his loving wife, of 66 years, Florence Patricia Ramsey; his two twin sons, Michael Paul Ramsey, and Patrick Allen Ramsey; his two grandsons, Kyle and Spencer Ramsey; and one granddaughter, Camille Ramsey. 

Memorial services will be held on Monday, October 26, 2015 at 11AM at Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church, 2046 Mar Vista Dr., Newport Beach, California. – See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/latimes/obituary.aspxpid=176187659#sthash.no2Csff7.dpuf

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