‘Broke the hearts of our little town’: Ramon Oar dies aged 54
The sudden death of a beloved Burdekin dentist and footy coach, Ramon Oar, has triggered an outpouring of support as the tight-knit community comes to terms with the loss.
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The sudden death of a beloved Burdekin dentist and footy coach, Ramon Oar, has triggered an outpouring of support as the tight-knit community comes to terms with the loss.
It is understood the married father of three died on Monday evening, March 17, from a suspected heart attack.
His dentist surgery Oar and Horan closed its doors on March 18 as staff grappled with his sudden death.
On their Facebook page, former workers, friends, and patients reacted to the news.
Kristy Raitelli said Ramon’s loss would be felt by many.
“This news broke the hearts of our little town today,” she said.
Desley Biffanti described Ramon as a “beautiful, gentle man gone too soon.”
Burdekin Football Club president Laurence Dal Santo remembered Ramon as a driving force at the soccer club.
“Ramon is well known to the whole community due to his local dental business, but in the football circles he is extremely well known and respected,” Mr Dal Santo said.
“Ramon was a competitor on the pitch, and one of the world’s most genuine and decent people off the field. He was the epitome of good sportsmanship and led this by example in everything he did. He treated everyone with respect and would always help or assist anyone that needed it. Ramon will be greatly missed by all who knew him.”
Ramon was born in Ayr and started playing for the Burdekin Senior Soccer Club in 1987 as a teenager, as well as the U19 team in the Northern League competition.
In 1989 he moved to Brisbane to study a Bachelor of Dental Science at the University of Queensland, before returning home and starting at Pulvirenti and Holmes private dental practice in Queen St, Ayr.
This dental practice morphed into “Oar & Horan” in 2007 when Ramon and his friend Todd Horan commenced their partnership in 2007.
Ramon was inducted as a life member of the Burdekin FC in 2022.
Burdekin Shire Council deputy mayor Max Musumeci knew Ramon through soccer.
“I once got my teeth knocked out at a game and he was sitting there on the bench,” Mr Musumeci said.
“I’ll never forget it. I got my four front teeth folded back in a game in Ingham and by chance he was the team manager that day and he saved them.”
Mr Musumeci said when he heard of Ramon’s death, it was a shock.
“He was fit, he was always smiling,” Mr Musumeci said.
“I don’t remember him ever saying a bad word about anyone, ever. He was an exceptional person of the highest quality... he was a player that everybody looked up to. He was a role model to me.”
Todd Horan worked alongside Ramon for 23 years, joining Oar Dental in 2002 before eventually going into the practice to create the Oar and Horan clinic on Queen St today.
Mr Horan said Ramon cared deeply about his patients.
“He said dentistry is not about teeth, it’s about people,” Mr Horan said.
“It was very important to him that the patient came first, and Ayr was our hometown so everyone felt like family, and we always made sure to treat people like they were our family.”
In addition to being loved by his patients, Ramon was also a generous teacher to many young dentists.
“We get a lot of staff who come and go, we employ a lot of university graduates,” Mr Horan explained.
“That time straight out of uni is where you really learn the ropes and how to treat patients, and Ramon taught so many people how to do that.”
“Ramon was incredibly generous. He mowed the lawn for the church, he would give up his time for anyone... for me, he shaped my career.”
Ramon Oar leaves behind a wife and three children.
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Originally published as ‘Broke the hearts of our little town’: Ramon Oar dies aged 54
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