- Jeff Ramsey and his wife Tanya were in their camper when the floodwaters in Texas struck on Friday, July 4
- Before they were swept away, Jeff left goodbye voicemails to his son, Jake, and daughter, Rachel
- Jeff remains missing while Tanya’s body was later found
A 61-year-old man left final voicemails for his two grown children in the moments before he and his wife were swept away in last week’s deadly Texas floods.
“He was just all about helping his community, helping veterans,” Jake Ramsey, the son of Jeff Ramsey, said about his father in an interview with ABC News. “And he just loved his country and loved us more than anything. And so I couldn’t have asked for a better dad.”
Jeff and his wife Tanya, 46, were in their camper in Kerrville when the floodwaters overtook the vehicle on July 4, the outlet reported.
Jeff remains missing while Tanya’s body was found and identified on Monday, July 7, her father, Mark Steele, confirmed in a Facebook post on July 8, the Houston Chronicle reported. “This is a very sad day for our family as we mourn the loss of Tanya and await word on her husband as well. Keep both of their families in your prayers and thoughts,” Steele wrote.
Jeff and Tanya were the parents of Jake, 24, and Rachel, 23, Fox affiliate KDFW reported.
“He left us both voicemails basically saying, ‘Hey buddy, I love you so much, I think this is it for us. Tell Rache-y, I love her’, ” Jake said, according to KDFW. “I listened to the message, and it broke me.”
Jake also said that his father was able to warn Tanya’s brother and mother, who were staying at a cabin about 100 yards away, so they could escape the flooding, ABC News reported.
One bright spot from the tragedy: the couple’s dog, Chloe, was found alive and brought to an animal shelter. “She’s a little distraught but getting back in the swing of things,” Jake told KDFW about the canine, who was identified through a microchip.
A GoFundMe has been established by the Ramsey and Steele families to raise money for funeral expenses and other related costs.
As for a lesson that his father imparted, Jake told KDFW, “Treat every day like it’s your last. That is something he did. So grateful he had such a great heart.”
Steele, Tanya’s father, praised the emergency responders in his Facebook post announcing his daughter’s death. “I only have good things to say about the emergency response teams from Texas, they truly are heroes and no expense was spared to find the missing campers,” he wrote.
PEOPLE reached out to Steele on Thursday, July 10, for comment.