Former Sacred Heart Academy Coach, Hamden Firefighter Dies

Hamden CT

18 August, 2020

7:25 PM

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HAMDEN, CT — The Hamden community and beyond is mourning the death of former longtime Sacred Heart Academy softball coach Ray Ramelli, who was also a retired firefighter. Ramelli died Monday night due to complications following surgery, according to GameTimeCT.com. He was 74. Ramelli helped start the Sacred Heart Academy softball program and had three different stints as head coach. He also coached at Sheehan. Ramelli's last stint as Sacred Heart coach was from 2008-14. He guided the Sharks to their magical postseason run and the program's lone state championship in 2011, according to GameTimeCT. Sacred Heart was the 23rd seed in the Class M division and pulled off five seeded upsets en route to the state title. As a firefighter, current Hamden Fire Chief Gary Merwede said Ramelli was a mentor to him. "Ram was an early mentor of mine, as were many from his era on the job," Merwede wrote in a post on Twitter. "He was a gentleman and will be remembered for his good nature. Rest brother, we have it from here." Read more tributes to Ramelli at GameTimeCT.com here.