The Fenton History Center mourns the loss of Ralph Wayne Leamer, who passed away unexpectedly on December 8, 2025, at his home in Ashville at the age of 75.
Wayne was born on May 22, 1950, in Dunkirk, New York, and spent his early years in Ripley, where he graduated from Ripley High School in 1968. He operated an electronics repair business for several years. After purchasing his first computer, he began entering family birthdays and anniversaries, which led to a growing interest in genealogy. Over the past several years, he worked on numerous projects involving the scanning, indexing, downloading, and preservation of local historical records.
He was a member and volunteer at the Fenton History Center, where he worked on numerous projects over the years. Wayne was also an active member of the Chautauqua County Genealogical Society, serving as Membership Chairman since 2001 and as publisher of The Chautauqua Genealogist newsletter since 2007, among many other contributions. More recently, he volunteered weekly at the Chautauqua County Historian’s Office.
Over many years, Wayne provided the Fenton History Center, the Chautauqua County Genealogical Society, and other organizations with a wide range of research materials, often delivered on disks, flash drives, or in bound volumes. These included scanned documents, compiled records, and large, searchable PDF files that brought together hundreds and sometimes thousands of pages of historical material. His work emphasized accessibility and long-term usability, allowing researchers to locate information efficiently within otherwise unwieldy collections.
Much of Wayne’s work was quiet and behind the scenes, but the resources he created and shared will continue to support research and preservation for years to come. His absence leaves a void that is felt across the Chautauqua County historical and genealogical community.
