Ronald Ron Leo Learn

Ron was the third son of Dorrit and Frank Learn of Fort Erie, Ontario. He was a "baby boomer", born after the war, on June 1, 1946. Ron was extremely proud of his family heritage. The Learn family came to Canada with many other Pennsylvania Dutch families seeking land in the late 1700s. They purchased land grants near old Fort Erie. Ron's mother's family were also pioneers from Pennsylvania.

Ron has two older brothers, Roger and Keith, who are five and four years older. He has one sister, Beth, who took over his position of youngest in the family when he was five. He often exaggerated that she got the best bedroom and he slept in a closet.

Ron was known as "Ronnie" when he was a young boy. He had many friends and to this day maintained a strong bond with his boyhood neighbour Al Hooper. They set up tin can telephones between their houses in Fort Erie. Some stories of Ron and Al's mischief include sleeping in a tent in the backyard and killing his mother's bush when they didn't go into the house to use the bathroom, and harvesting plums for his mother from a neighbour's tree without their permission. The neighbour took Ron's bike and left Ron stranded high in the tree until nightfall.

In the late 50's, Ron and Al took guitar lessons together until Ron accepted that he didn't have the dexterity or ear for it. Ron maintained a great appreciation for rock and roll and rhythm and blues music throughout the rest of his life. Ron and Alan worked for many summers for Ron's brother Keith on landscaping jobs. In 1971, they went to England, Ireland, France, Spain and Morocco. They shared many fun experiences including camping on an Irish beach where they discovered that a cloister of nuns had been watching them skinny dipping in the Irish Sea, and Alan selling his pop up tent at the Bazaar in Fez, Morocco. Throughout Ron's life, Al has been a valued friend. He was the best man in Ron and Trish's wedding and the godfather of their first son, Ben. Ben's middle name is Alan. Ron always included a visit with Al when he went to Ontario after moving to B.C. In the fall of 2012, Al flew to B.C. to join Ron on a road trip back to Ontario so that Ron could go to the 100th Grey Cup Game in Toronto.

Ron struggled through Elementary and High School but persisted even though his father suggested he should quit and instead work on the railroad. The best example of Ron's perseverance is that ultimately he received a Bachelor of Science Degree with a Marketing Major and earned a spot on the Dean's Honour list. Upon graduation in 1973, Ron accepted a position with American Hospital Supplies and a short time later transferred with the company to Richmond, B.C.

Shortly after his move Ron met Trish on her 22nd birthday. They dated for three months and decided to marry. On August 24, 1974, nine months after their first meeting, they joined hands in marriage and remained united for nearly 42 years until his passing. Their common passion for travelling and family held them together. Certain things annoyed Ron such as Trish's spending habits and inability to let sentimental things go but he loved her deeply despite these quirks. Ron charmed his way into Trish's large family of five siblings and extended family. They have had many fun family gatherings and excursions. When Ron and Trish first dated, he used to tell her that the thing that attracted him to her was her family.

Ron continued his education at SFU in 1975 with aspirations of a Master's Degree but put it on hold when Trish and Ron went travelling. In 1977, Ron and Trish quit their jobs, sold most of their possessions and left on a world tour with plans of returning in one year. However, each country beckoned more time and the year grew into two and a half. They spent six months enjoying the tropical Pacific Islands of Tahiti, American Samoa, Western Samoa, Fiji, and Tonga. New Zealand saw these hearty travellers for six months. For three of those months, Ron worked for the Auckland Power Board and Trish as food prep and cashier at a coffee place in downtown Auckland. They shared a flat with three young New Zealanders, a great way to get involved with that country's way of life.

Australia was Ron and Trish's next destination. At an auction, they spent all of their money on a red VW van. It was an empty shell used by the Telecommunication Company in Sydney. They camperized it into their mobile home, which would carry them for thousands of kilometers all over the continent.

After spending Christmas with Ron's brother Keith, wife Moya, and children Tammy and David, Ron took a landscaping job in Sydney and Trish worked as a cashier at Safeway. They worked hard and saved money for three months, then Ron and Trish were once again on the open road. This time they toured for six months, driving down to Adelaide, up the center of Australia through Alice Springs to Darwin, back down along the coast of Western and South Australia, across the Nullabor Desert to Melbourne and finally they took a boat to Tasmania. Afterwards, they even sold their van for the same amount it was purchased.

After nine months in Australia, Ron and Trish's next destination was South East Asia, beginning with the Philippines, Hong Kong, Macau, and Singapore. Singapore was a jump off point for exploration of Java, Bali, Malaysia and Sumatra. They spent a month visiting Phuket, Bankok, and Chiang Mai in Thailand then flew off to Burma where they were given permission to stay for seven days. The next destination was Calcutta, India, and then Nepal to trek in the Annapurna Sanctuary and see the Himalayan Mountains. They returned to India, visiting Kajuraho, the Taj Mahal in Agra, the Ganges in Varanasi, New Dehli, the pink city of Jaipur, Mount Abu and the Golden Temple in Amritsar. From there they visited Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, and Austria. The plan was to go to Slovakia and Germany to visit Trish's relatives but intestinal parasites got the better of Trish and they headed to the tropical disease clinic in Toronto. Needless to say it was a fantastic trip with countless stories to tell!

After their travels, in 1979, Ron and Trish settled in the Toronto area. Ron worked with his brother Keith, landscaping the Canada Wonderland Amusement Park. During this time, Ron was ecstatic to welcome his first son, Ben. For one summer Trish's brother Ed came from B.C. to work with Ron. They often came home with their hair wind blown when they replaced sand bags on trial runs of the new roller coasters.

The Canada Wonderland project was completed in two years and in 1981 Ron accepted a buyer position in Edmonton, Alberta moving a little closer to B.C. He worked on the Esso Refinery expansion project with Associated Kellogg. Ron and Trish enjoyed socializing with newcomer club members while living in Edmonton. They maintain one very special friendship with Mike and Jalna who now live in Scotland and in the summer of 2015 Trish and Ron travelled there to spend time with them.

Ron and Trish moved to Richmond in 1983 after completion of the Edmonton project. After a lengthy job search, Ron accepted a buyer position at the innovative global communication company, MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates (MDA). It was a few weeks prior to the birth of his second son, Matthew in October, 1983. Ron was now the proudest father of two boys. When the boys were young Ron took many courses and attained his PMAC (Purchasing Management Association of Canada) designation. He committed 28 years of life working with the company until he retired in 2011.

Besides being an avid NHL hockey fan, Ron also spent many years coaching his two boys in minor hockey and managing the equipment for the association. He made many good friends and was always admired for being fair and giving every child an equal opportunity. Ron put his excelllent interpersonal skills to heavy use when dealing with the more difficult hockey parents.

Ron and Trish bought a third VW van in 1981 in Edmonton. This van was a Westfalia camper and it provided haven for hundreds of camping trips for sixteen years. Ron wrote a poem about the van, entitled "Jezebel". The family was very sad to end that part of their life in 1997.

Not long after emptying the nest, Ron retired early, three days before his 65th birthday. As a "kept man", Ron stayed busy gardening and landscaping his yard. Trish continued working through the school year, and together they took long trips during her 2-month summer vacation, visiting places such as Australia, the Cook Islands, Germany, Slovakia, and much of the United Kingdom. Ron cared about his community and volunteered to organize aspects of community celebrations. He also attended many city council meetings. He was often the solo audience member at these wearisome meetings and came home to tell Trish all about them.

When Ben married Tracy in June, 2014, Ron accepted her with open arms and was happy to finally have the daughter he always wanted. Recently, Ron told Matthew how happy he was that Matt had found Jenny and her dog, Daisy to light up his life.

Ron raised two good boys, which is his legacy. He led by example to be kind and fair to everyone you meet. The family will forever dearly miss Ron.

* * * * * * * * * *

With profound sadness, we announce that Ron Learn passed away from a stroke at Langley Memorial Hospital on May 19, 2016. He is deeply missed and lovingly remembered by his wife of 42 years, Trish, and sons Ben (Tracy) and Matthew (Jenny Haskins). Ron’s brothers, Roger (Mary Louise), Keith (Barbara) and sister Beth Barrick (Ray), and numerous extended family and friends also miss him dearly. His father Franklin and mother Dorrit predecease him.

Ron was born and raised in Fort Erie, Ontario. His post secondary education included Fanshawe College in London, Ont., Niagara College in Welland, Ont., and Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. Ron transferred to B.C. in 1973 where he met Trish. They travelled the world before settling to have a family. Ron had an illustrious working career culminating with his work as a Senior Buyer at the global communications company, MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) for 28 years. He retired “early”, three days before his 65th birthday. Ron had three major passions: travelling, his family, and hockey. He loved to show visitors his home region almost as much as he loved exploring theirs. He was a dedicated and proud father of Ben and Matthew. He was actively involved in the Langley Minor Hockey Association as a Coach all the years that his sons played from 1989 to 2001. He was also an avid Canucks fan. After retirement, you could find him at the Library, working in his yard, spending countless hours pruning, or watching hockey. He also was a great supporter of the Langley community and became active in organizing Community Events. Ron was a man of integrity, passionate about helping others and a great person to be around.

Online condolences to the family may be made to www.victoryfuneralcentre.ca.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the charity of your choice – Ron’s favourites would have been The Canadian Tire Jumpstart, “Giving Kids a Sporting Chance” or B.C. Heart & Stroke Foundation.

The service will be streamed online via http://www.livememorialservices.com/Home/Families