Honoring Our Founder Dwight S. “Bo” Ramsay
Dwight S. “Bo” Ramsay was born February 13, 1928, in Fordyce, AR and graduated from Pine Bluff High School. In 1945, upon graduation, he entered Henderson State College in Pine Bluff. After a year at Henderson, he wanted to honor his older brother Banks, an aviator lost in combat, and joined the U.S. Army under the G.I. Bill. While being shipped to Japan, WWII ended with the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki but he completed his tour of duty by joining the 11th Airborne to become a paratrooper.
Following a return back to the States and a military furlough, Ramsay earned a B.S. in Geology from the University of Arkansas and was then sent to Korea in 1952, to complete two tours as 1st Lieutenant in a regimental tank company of the 40th California Infantry Division. Heartbreak Ridge was where he fought with valor in close combat and earned a Purple Heart.
After service, Ramsay began his career in the oil and gas business working on drilling rigs in Arkansas, Wyoming and Montana. Years later cutting his teeth as a junior Geologist and working for companies such as Vickers Petroleum, Standard Oil and Gas, and Alco Oil and Gas he moved to Lafayette to become President of Alco. A merger shortly thereafter gave Ramsay the opportunity to go on his own and become an independent geologist, free to cut deals with whomever. With that flexibility, a rather big discovery in South Texas earned him the ability to make further investments and he chose the marine service industry forming Aries Marine Corporation, still operating today with family management.
Bo was a member of professional and civic organizations that included: Founding member of the Board of Directors to Southwest National Bank of Lafayette, Advisory Board Member of Iberia Bank, Chamber of Commerce, Krewe of Gabriel, National Ocean Industries Association, Offshore Marine Service Association, Lafayette Geological Society, American Association of Petroleum Geologists and Society of Independent Professional Earth Scientists. Because of his extensive industry involvement, he was honored as LAGCOE “LOOEY” in 2011.
Ramsay was a consummate optimist, loved the joi de vivre of Acadiana and invested heavily into the area’s nonprofits over the years. A few standouts of his many supported charities are as follows: Acadiana Symphony, Boys and Girls Clubs, St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, Lafayette Community Health Clinic, Bridge Ministries, United Way of Acadiana, UL Foundation, Special Olympics, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Episcopal School of Acadiana (ESA), Moncus Park, and many more. In 2012, he was honored with the Civic Cup. Taking a particular interest in Secondary Education Ramsay gave generously to Public, Protestant and Catholic schools, alike benefitting children throughout our community. It is ESA, however, that stands out as a jewel beneficiary in Ramsay’s legacy. As one of the founders, he was instrumental in the school’s early and continued success.
His memory will live on through his legacy, philanthropy and family for years to come.
