Dr JR had even endured living in Yambio, Kajokeji and we had lived in more remote places with less or no good living conditions very remote setting like in South Sudan where I used to mind about him allot while in the field sites I could ask him all times....
 
Are you okay JR?
 
He would tell me Muki am more       comfortable than you are hahaha with his usual smill.. 

He is ever smiling and his usual word after any success we made. Super done Muki Sukuran... (Sukuran in Arabic means thank you)...

JR will be missed allot for his contribution to South Sudan public health sector development..

I am collecting some of the photos and will post soon.

MISS YOU JR

Dr. JR Anthony, your memories are just in my minds and always dreams remembering how we used to crack jocks while in office, in field sites,  through our adhock meetings, work progresses, and during successes for all the last 11 years. Please REST IN FAVORITE PEACE. You have done allot of professional developments in the South Sudan public health sector and to my personal life. My endless tears. I remember when we drove together to Juba International Air port till that day on 24th March 2021, So now I just listen to your recorded voices and seeing pictures not real you physically again .... Oh God hold my heart.....

Your best Friend Muki Johnson is missing You allot..

Jr and I became family-friends at Stanford and then attended Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene at the same time. JR was in International Health while I was in Population Dynamics. During that time, I took a graduate level immunology class which I was totally unprepared for (before med school or my pre-med requirements). For a full quarter, JR worked with me in an empty basement classroom in the School of Hygiene and retaught the lectures, OR RATHER, he listened to my interpretation of each lecture and CORRECTED my erroneous thinking without ever making me feel ignorant or ill-equipped (although I was). I passed that class due to JR reteaching me with humor and aplomb, while never appearing to be bothered by my questions or misunderstandings.

The first time I met JR was when he came to NACCHO for his initial interview. At that time I was involved in all of the screening interviews for open positions, along with members of the hiring team, so there were several of us there. The candidate that walked in was slightly disheveled, and had what we came to realize later was his trademark backpack hanging off of one shoulder. Additionally, he had on a tie with cartoon characters. We were not particularly impressed by this candidate, although he seemed nice enough.

60 seconds into the interview, JR Ransom had our attention! His brilliance was immediately apparent. 15 minutes into the interview, we knew that we wanted this unique and interesting individual to join our team. That was in 2002.

Fast forward to 2010. I left NACCHO to open my dessert shop around the time that JR left NACCHO to begin his work abroad. Each time he returned to DC we got together for a quick coffee (JR’s beverage of choice) or lunch if we had time. Sometimes he just came and sat in my shop, had coffee and dessert, and read a book that he pulled out of his backpack. I never tired of hearing about his life and work in the South Sudan or in Myanmar. Time and time again JR found himself in incredibly challenging situations, yet could not imagine staying away. How could one not come to love this selfless human being?

JR often ordered multiple desserts from my shop, which he traveled to Tysons in Virginia on a train and bus to pick up (JR did not DO Virginia, so I felt honored!). He then divided and packed the desserts to mail to friends and family around the country. On several occasions he ordered whole cakes to get on a plane with, and quite naturally he carried the cake boxes, along with his travel backpack, to the airport. When I asked him how he intended to hold the cakes for the duration of the flight, he gave me that “seriously?!!” look and said, “in the overhead compartment, of course!” I always imagined the cakes coming apart during the flight, but he convinced me that they remained intact.

I will miss my beautiful, generous friend. I will miss his laughter and his idiosyncrasies. I will miss hearing about his experiences in places to which few dared travel, let alone work and live. The world has lost a remarkable human being, but memories of him will certainly remain.

Read Rumph and Associates rememberance of JR: http://rumphandassociates.com/victor-elba/

Written By Steve Bice

Did I know him well, not really.
    My partner did.
When he visited, I saw in him what she saw.
    A kind being with a very sophisticated view of this complex world.
   Did we love him? Definitely not as much as he deserved.
    I did talk with him at length about his contributions across this immense  globe.
    He so impressed me with his bright, thought-through ideas, his love of the competent and  his disdain of the slackers.
  And do you know what else impressed me greatly?  
    He loved his work.  Actually loved the ups and downs of it.  He loved the terrible jungles and the dangerous places.
    My partner will mourn his loss for many months...I may from time to time forget to say to the universe, I , too, miss him.
    But I know there will be the poor, the diseased, the needy, who will never forget his gentle hand, his quixotic smile when shit-hit-the-fan, his genuine kindness in the face of so much terror.