"is
{above I to r} Rick wit" fam ily Elizabet" , jimbo, Clair, Alex, CblllCY, {above left} wit" "is mother Joy; (left) Rick's fa ther Louis L. Ramsay, J r.
baskerball and cou ld quir thar job." "Thank God you were rall ," Rick's wife, C lair, jokingly said. Ri ck excelled in basketball at m e college level as well. As a freshman at the University of Arkansas at Fayerreville. he played on the then freshman basketball teanl- m e Arkansas Shoats-m e o nly undefeated freshman team in the hiscory of the university. Talke Me To m e River Ri ck took up canoei ng while he was a S[Udem at the uni versity and then later turned to whi te water rafting. As with all of th e activities Rick is passionarc aoo m, he excelled in this area as well. H e has conquered some of the CO Untry's big ri vers, including the Grand Canyo n and the Salmon River in Idaho. Th is May, he co mpleted his term as president of rh e Ccmrai C hapter of the Arkansas Ca noe C lub, a recreational group active in conservation effo rts and ri ver-access issues. "My upbringing is that if yo u are going ro involve yourself in something. you should get into it with both feet and try (0 make that project be the bes t that it ca n be," Rjck said. Rick and C lair headed (0 th e Sal mon River fo r a q ui ck vacario n shortl y afte r he was
sworn in as pres ident at the Associatio n's annual meeting. Although their time on the river has been more limited lately, they head Out whenever they can. W hat started out as a hobby fo r them has turned into a big pan of their lives. Clair admits mat she had "a heal my fear of the water" when she and Rick first met, bur now she just has mo re of a respect for the river and lets herself enjoy their trips. A typical trip down a river with friends includes several rafts loaded with gear and gourmer food thar the group cooks on the ban ks of the ri ver. Clair sa id she works hard gening ready for the trip and is the packer extraordinaire, but once [hey get on the river she gets to relax. "S he reaches in her little river bag and pulls our her tiara and declares herself river princess," Rick said. C lair was excited to wear a new rhinesto ne Razorback tiara thar a fellow river buddy gave her for their most recent trip. Rick and Clair enjoy doi ng things together and are one of those uniqu e couples that also manage ro work well togethe r. C lair works as his paralegal at Eichenbaum, Lil es & H eister, a position she bega n just "tempo rarily" when he needed help over five years ago.
"I was terrifl ed at flrst because you hear so many horror stories about working with your spouse," C lair said. "But we acrually do pretty well together." Although they try leaving work at the office, she sa id it has been benefi cial for them to be ab le [Q cominue working while they are traveling. In fact, uaveling is what brought the rwo of them together ove r sixteen years ago. They met in Atlanta, Georgia, at a dinn er parry even though mey born lived in Little Rock. "I was meeting my mother and father to go quail huntin g in so uth Geo rgia, and my farher got an airline ticket that was go ing to cosr $900 ," Rick said. " I knew if I stayed over Saturday night it would be cheaper so I went ahead of rhem. I called a friend in Atlanta to see if she wam ed to meet for dinner and she invited me to a wedding party for a fri end who was gening married." Ir rurns out the wedding party was for C lair's sister, Jert Sheehy. Rick was seated next to Clai r at the dinner parry. wh ich might have been due to so me "cooking of me place cards." The parry was hosred by the late Ca rroll O 'Co nno r {aka Archie Bunker}, a fr iend of C lair's moth er. Jon Jett. C lai r's mo th er is an artist and shared a studio with Nancy O'Con nor when Ca rroll was fllming
Vol. 42 No. 3/ Surnrner 2007 The Arkansas La"yer
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