Ronald Soniat Wood

Ronald (Ron) Soniat Wood, age 75, a native of New Orleans, lost his battle with cancer on June 26, 2018. He is survived by his beloved wife Margaret and daughter Meredith; brother Kent C. Wood (Barbara) of Covington, La; sister, Corinne W. Laborde (Ken) of Metairie, La; brothers-in-law, Ed Cronise (Katrina) of Troutville, Va, and Michael Cronise (Maggie) of Roanoke, Va, David Cronise (Nancy) of Springwood, Va; nieces, Aimee LaDuke (Jason) of Wilmington, NC, Adrienne Ehrensing (Luke) of New Orleans, La, Alison Jorgensen (Raymond) and Kim Bales (John) of Troutville, Va; nephews, JD Cronise of Asheville, NC, Marc Laborde (Maurine), Drew Laborde, and Cameron Wood of New Orleans, La. Ron was preceded in death by his parents, Bob and Yvonne Wood of Metairie, La.

Ron fought an 8-year battle with an extremely rare cancer and was determined to beat the disease. He never gave up and had the desire to continue working full time until he turned 80. He demonstrated an optimistic attitude that helped him maintain a very productive life. He absolutely loved his job.

Ron graduated from Jesuit High School in 1960 and has always been a loyal supporter of the school. He received his business degree from Tulane University in 1964 and law degree from Tulane School of Law in 1967. Ron was honored in 2017 at Tulane’s Law School graduation for being actively employed 50 years post-graduation. He was passionate about his work and was a great mentor. He wanted everyone he helped and advised to be successful.

Ron was employed as Vice President and State Counsel for Fidelity National Title Group for the past 15 years. He worked in the field of title insurance for the past 30 years. He was Senior Underwriting Counsel for First American Title Insurance Company and of Counsel to the New Orleans law firm of Baldwin & Haspel, specializing in real estate closings and title examination. He was a past chairman of the Real Property Law Committee of the New Orleans Bar Association and served on the Uniform Title Standard Committee of the LSBA. He lectured on real estate matters at seminars sponsored by the LSBA and New Orleans Land Title Association. He was the author of the Manual on Cancellations of Mortgage Inscriptions. He has written articles on real estate for the recent developments section of the Louisiana Bar Journal. He served on the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Land Title Association and as co-chairman of its Legislative committee, which has been responsible for obtaining passage of legislation helpful to the real estate title industry. He served on the Law Institute Registry committee. He received the LLTA’s “Title Person of the Year” award in 2009. He was a member of the New Orleans Metropolitan Association of Title Attorneys and served several years on its Board of Directors.

Ron was a “special” man and will be sorely missed by his agents and co-workers, family and friends. His work ethic was admired by all who knew and loved him.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend a funeral mass on Friday, June 29, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. in the chapel of Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd., New Orleans. Visitation will begin at 9:00 a.m.