Tributes
James Gaut Ragsdale passed away peacefully on May 1, 2024, at the age of 73. He was born and raised in Knoxville, TN, son of the late Wm Hoyle Ragsdale Sr. and the late Mary Wright Ragsdale. Gaut earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Tennessee and his PhD from Indiana University. While at the University of Tennessee, he met the love of his life, Vicki, at a softball game where he charmed her with his wit and sense of humor.
After graduate school Gaut moved with his family to Louisiana where he was a professor at LSU until 1987, moving to northern Kentucky later that year to accept a position at Northern Kentucky University. While at NKU, he served as an associate professor, the associate dean for College of Informatics, chair of the Communications Department, and president of the Faculty Senate. According to a recent president of the US Treasury Agents Union, “Gaut was a witty individual with an excellent sense of humor and the ability to remain fair, tactful, and calm.” These traits served him well when working with his students, leading meetings, and in his role as parliamentarian for his church, the US Treasury Agents Union, and education associations in Alabama and Indiana.
In addition to his passion for his career, Gaut’s most proud accomplishments were his relationships with his family and friends. Throughout his life he was a devoted son, husband, father, grandfather, brother, and friend. He loved working in his yard, sharing wonderful memories about his daughters Anna and Mary, and playing with his grandchildren. His most recent joys were making a Tik Tok video with his granddaughter, Carmena, and playing Connect 4 and building Legos with his grandsons Andreas, Anthony, and Angel.
A resident of Edgewood, KY, he is survived by his wife of 46 years, Vicki Abney Ragsdale, his children Anna Ragsdale and Mary Lillian Ragsdale, and four grandchildren, Carmena, Andreas, Anthony and Angel.
The memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 18, 2024, 2:00PM at First Unitarian Church, 536 Linton Street, Cincinnati, OH 45219. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the Vicki and Gaut Ragsdale NKU Scholarship or the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
To share a story or to leave an online condolence, please visit: www.linnemannfuneralhomes.com.
Events by Linnemann
Linnemann Funeral Home Crematory
Address: 30 Commonwealth Avenue Erlanger, KY - Kentucky 41018James Gaut Ragsdale
,
First Cousin
First cousin but more a younger brother who will be missed.
Will Wright
The Maxwells
Gaut was such a caring person not something one heard but always in his deeds. He was a bright light to the world an his presence will be truly missed. Love The Maxwells
Wonderful Professor
Dr Ragsdale was a wonderful professor and mentor. He was instrumental in helping me decide to stay in college.
Gaut Was One of the Kindest People I Ever Knew
I knew and was a colleague of Gaut’s for many years at NKU. I was a Professor of Management (now Emeritus) who worked with Gaut on many faculty committees and task forces. I was with him in the Faculty Senate in the early years of NKU as we, as faculty, threshed out policies, procedures and plans for the young college, later designated as a university. Gaut was always a thoughtful listener, tolerant of others’ viewpoints, and full of new ideas and different ways of looking at things. I enjoyed and respected him as a colleague and considered him to be a friend, even though we had few social interactions outside of the walls of NKU.
An Awesome Friend
Gaut was a classmate all the way through elementary and high school. He was president of our high school
class. We became closer friends the last few years of his life, following our 50th high school reunion. We spoke for hours about many things. He was always curious what was going on with me and the world. We had just finished a conversation moments before he became ill. He was a great man, kind, caring, curious, thankful and always calm. He will be missed. I lost an awesome friend.
A Gentleman and a Scholar
Gaut was a true gentleman & scholar. I feel honored and blessed to have known him.
For you and your family
Dr. Ragsdale, Im so thankful for all you taught me. I actually used that quarter you gave me to call home when I was left at my college graduation. You were genuinely a great man and I know you will be missed by so many. My prayers go out to your family. In time the sense of loss will be replaced with warm memories.
A Cherished Professor
Dr. Ragsdale was a wonderful professor, mentor, and friend. He always believed in me and whenever we met for lunch and shared stories about our life pursuits, he always made me feel important and helped me to see the difference I was making. For years he kept nudging me to read Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl. Once I finally did, I made sure to thank Dr. Ragsdale for the persistence as this book helped me immensely and I’m sure Dr. Ragsdale knew it would. I will forever be grateful for his guidance, kindness, wisdom, and compassion. With love, Samantha Gentrup
There have been no videos submitted yet.