Ronald Walter Richert

Ronald W. Richert went into his Savior’s loving arms on March 16, 2015 surrounded by his loving wife and his three daughters. He was the son of the late Martin and Louise (Erich) Richert. Born in 1938 in Detroit, MI, he graduated from Detroit Lutheran High in 1956, Concordia Teacher’s College in River Forest, IL in 1961, and Florida State University in 1968. In 1963 he and his wife moved to Florida where he taught in the public school system for 30 years. After his retirement from education in 1993, his love for people and the water motivated him to begin a second career with Walt Disney World. For 10 years he touched the lives of hundreds as he transported them around the Magic Kingdom as a deck hand and a boat captain. He retired from Disney in 2014.

Ron’s favorite past time was traveling. He drove to all 48 continental states and took a cruise to Alaska, but he especially loved those trips down the scenic and historic roads of America. His favorites included the Natchez Trace and the Mother Road (U.S. Route 66), where he spent a great amount of time searching and backtracking to find the original highway of Main Street USA. He leaves behind his beloved wife Paula, daughters, Ronda (Jeff) Swanson, Donna Bianchi, and Cathy (Eric) Van Gorden, 6 grandchildren, a sister, Ruth (William) Zabel and a sister-in-law Phyllis Richert. He was preceded in death by his brother Alvin Richert, and brother and sister-in-law William (Sallie) Richert. A Celebration of His Life service will be held at Zion New Life Lutheran Church, 16161 Marsh Road, Winter Garden, FL on March 19th at 5:00pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Building Fund at Zion New Life.