Oscar Pike Made a Difference in Ramona

Oscar Pike was passionate about Ramona. His name is on a street sign but he will be remembered for much more than having a street named in his honor.

Pike, 84, died Aug. 9 in this town that he had called home since he was a child. He was born March 19, 1927, in Buckley, WA. His family moved to Julian in 1934 where Pike and his siblings attended Spencer Valley School, often helping to teach each other. By the time he was in fourth grade, the family had moved to Ramona.

He graduated from Ramona High School in 1944, joining the Navy soon after, where he served as a naval ordnance man. He was scheduled for deployment to bomb the Japanese fleet shortly before the war ended. He was stationed in Washington state and met his wife there while awaiting discharge from the Navy.

Oscar and Winnie Pike were married in April 1946 in San Diego, making their home in Ramona. He attended University of Southern California under the G.I. Bill.

When he came home to Ramona for the summer after his freshman year in 1947, he went to work as manager of Ramona Cash Grocery and did not return to the university. After managing the store for 13 years, he purchased it in 1961 and owned it until 1975.

Pike was active in community affairs and local politics.

“Everything he did, he did for the community,” his wife of 65 years, Winnie Pike, said. “He didn’t do it for himself or for individuals. If enough individuals talked about it and they needed a leader, he would be the one.”

He became close friends with Tom Griffin, owner and publisher of Ramona Sentinel. Pike’s wife recalled when Griffin would come into the grocery store to sell ads for the newspaper. She said Griffin and Pike would discuss the various stories in the newspaper and issues affecting the town.

“Pretty soon he’d have Oscar going to these meetings and it just would go from there,” she said. “Like the planning district; they all wanted to do something about the county telling us what we could do. Oscar worked very hard (with) Tom Griffin, hoping they would get (Ramona to be) a city. Oscar understood all of this.”

Pike was president of Ramona Chamber of Commerce in 1971 and also served a term as president of North County Chamber of Commerce. He was a member of the County Operations Board.

Pike was elected to the Ramona Municipal Water District Board of Directors from 1978 to 1982, serving as board treasurer. He was the driving force in the development of the wellfield park that is now home to ballparks, soccer fields and the fairgrounds. He was instrumental in obtaining financing for the district’s sewer services, Lake Ramona and Ramona Community Center.

He also served one year on the Ramona Unified School District Board of Trustees in 1976-77 where he worked for eliminating half-day sessions, obtaining portable classrooms, and building the swimming pool and auto shop buildings at Ramona High School.

Pike was active in Boy Scouts as a cub scoutmaster, scoutmaster and Eagle Scout counselor. He was a founding member of Ramona Optimist Club and the Ramona Outdoor Community Center. He organized the community summer sports and activities programs for eight years.

In addition to his wife, survivors include: two sons, Robert, of Hawaii, and Randy, of Thousand Oaks; daughter, Patricia, of Ramona; sisters, Lois Fenley, of Phoenix, and Dorothy Maurath, of Grass Valley; eight grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

An open house will be held for family and friends from noon to 5 p.m. Sept. 3 at 1020 D St., Ramona.