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I actually liked her absence because it felt real. There are a lot of abandoned kids out there and you rarely see it referenced in films.
It was cool to see the contrasting motherly relationships in this movie and especially how that affected Travis and Bernice.

I'm watching this movie now and at Ramona's funeral, the priest mentions Ramona had 2 daughters.

How do we know Ramona was her mother? There was hardly a mention of Birdie having siblings or where the father was.

No.
GK:
Every show is your last show. That's my philosophy.
Rhonda:
Thank you, Plato.

old post. but i always wondered if Henry Connack Jr.'s character was Travis's dad

I think it was just another part of the story. The story had a lot of elements of "bad parenting" in it. That was just in the vein of that.

I think they showed her selfishness better by having her just send Birdee a telegram asking her to watch Travis instead - he's depressed that she wouldn't even write to him, but does resolve to try visit her one day, so he's clearly not angry past forgiving (remember that scene earlier in the film where he says the stepmother from Hansel and Gretel should've been burned in the oven, and Ramona defends his mother?). Anyway, I think seeing her distant sister would've been one too many things for Birdee to handle with already grieving and dealing with her husband and getting through to her daughter. She accepted to watch Travis so I guess she would've found that easier than jumping down her sister's throat right about then.