Ronald G. Wilson

Ronald Gilbert Wilson was born on August 18th 1938 in Golden Grove, Saint Ann, Jamaica to Samuel and Eugenia Wilson. He was the youngest son of 8 children. He was affectionately known as “Ronnie” or “Ron”. He attended All Age Primary school in Golden Grove. Growing up in St. Ann’s Bay, he was very active in church and became a Sunday school teacher.

Ronnie learned various skills, starting with carpentry, where he learned to build and reconstruct houses for his family. Little did he know that these skills would lead him to opportunities to make significant contributions to the industrial revolution. Aluminum became a high demand for the military world wide. Jamaica had a substantial discovery of bauxite in the coal mines turning the country into a leading chain in global aluminum supply. By 1956, annual shipments of bauxite reached one million tons. An ambitious expansion program granted opportunities to train in the engineering of bauxite. In 1957, Ronnie was employed by Reynolds Bauxite Aluminum Company in Ocho Rios as a Crane Driver. In 1962, he was granted the opportunity to relocate to London to embark upon a promising career in welding and crane driving. He took courses in the field and worked for various contracts, ultimately being employed by Ford Motors as a Crane Driver from 1968-1979. In 1979 he came to Brooklyn, New York where he began a career in construction painting for Polly Painting company in Queens. He continued as a construction painter, primarily in Manhattan for the next 25 years.

In 1983, Ronald met Maureen Ellis and her son Roger. They got married June 1984 in New Jersey and welcomed their daughter, Rochelle. He moved to Montclair, NJ where they raised their family together, followed by the purchasing of their first home in 1990. In 2003, Ron retired from construction. Tragically, after 24 years of marriage Maureen passed away due to a terminal illness. In 2009, love found Ron again unexpectedly. Through mutual friends, he met Claudette Speare in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica. Ron married Claudette in 2010 in Montclair NJ. In 2013 the couple relocated to Tamarac, Florida. Sadly, Claudette recently developed an illness, and she predeceased Ron by just 3 weeks on January 6, 2025. They were married for 14 years.

Despite the hardships, Ron lived a long successful life. His favorite hobbies were handyman tasks, renovating family and friends homes, including reconstructing his garage into a shed. He had a green thumb for planting flowers and vegetables. Most of all, he loved spending time with family and friends, sharing a drink, and listening to music. His favorite genre was Rock Steady Reggae classics. His beloved stereo system and collection of vinyl records filled his living room next to his favorite chair which he would play every Saturday and Sunday mornings while he completed chores. He cherished peaceful mornings on his porch with a newspaper or relaxing in his backyard during the summer reminiscing about Jamaica.

Ron was predeceased by his parents and his siblings Kenneth, Pearl, Colin, Valda, and George. He is survived by his two youngest sisters Mary and Violet; his daughter Rochelle; son-in-law Kevar; grandchildren Kelly and Prince; step-children, Roger, Wayne, Nadine, and Charles; along with beloved nieces, nephews, many cousins, and close friends in New York. He, his jokes and infectious laugh will be deeply missed by many.