Legacy of Mel and Leta Ramos
Not only was Mel Ramos a prolific painter, he and his wife, Leta, were impassioned arts educators, each working in their own realms with youth, university students, and adult learners with disabilities. After her marriage to Mel in 1955, Leta became an elementary school teacher, teaching first- and second-grade children, developing an audio-visual center for Chabot Elementary School in Oakland, and teaching adults at the Richmond Art Center. Also a painter, one of Leta’s main commitments was teaching art at the Creative Growth Art Center in Oakland. The family moved to Oakland in 1968 when Mel accepted a teaching position at Cal State East Bay, now California State University, Hayward. His range and precision as an artist are outgrowths of his teaching career, through which he mentored more than two generations of art students.