When his daughter was young, and his wife finishing college, Ron was a stay-at-home dad. He supported his family as a Tupperware consultant, doing home demonstrations in the evening and working with the inventory during the day. One year the regional sales meeting happened to fall on Halloween, and Ron attended in costume as a ‘Tupperware Lady’, to everyone’s amusement.
His legendary camping trips often included sailing, fishing, hiking, Dutch oven cook-offs, solar ovens, and more. Puff, the Volkswagen van, was packed with all the comforts of home.. and outings were nick-named ‘Camp Convenience’. This love of the outdoors included Girl Scout campouts, and cooking at a children’s camp.
With his excellent skills on the scroll saw, he could turn ordinary wood into beautiful fretwork and intarsia artwork. Growing up, he loved spending time on his grandpa’s farm, plowing with the steam tractor. He always loved to garden, and often grew hops for his home brews.
Ron’s daughter and husband will always think of him when camping, and his 4 grandchildren have fond memories of sleep overs, air shows, tank fest, Monterey Bay Aquarium, eating pumpkin pie for breakfast, trips to the beach, watching penguins at the California Academy of Science and finger gun fights.
Ron’s friends and family, including his wife, daughter and her family, and sisters will remember him with love. Following cremation, there will be a celebration of his life later in the summer.
Ron’s sister Cheri adds:
With 6 years between Ron and I, I always felt I had the upper hand…lol! When Ron was born, he had the prettiest eyes and longest eye lashes. I felt cheated, so I would warn him “You do what I say, or I will cut off your eye lashes. Don’t tell Mom what I said though”. I knew it wasn’t very nice, but it worked until he was about 4 or 5 years old, and he told Mom. That was not a good day for me! After that, he would walk up to me and bat his eyes to prove that I had lost my ‘big sister’ control, but I loved him anyhow, and still do. He will always be my brother.
Ron’s sister Denise adds:
When my brother Bill died at age 32, I was in my late 20's. Ron immediately said "I will be your brother now". He inspired a change in me at that time that I wasn't to realize immediately. He was my brother, moving from the realm of "sister's husband", to my brother. As the years passed, we grew closer emotionally and spiritually, each sustaining life's ups & downs.
There is no one person who has inspired me more, made me believe in myself, aware that I can tackle whatever problems have me immobilized. Once he was involved in his physical therapy - post West Nile Virus, he worked diligently to regain any strength he could! One of my fondest memories of Ron: I met with Laura & Ron in Palm Springs. He was well into his recovery & Laura had taken a side job at the hospital there. I came from my room to their room to find only Laura. When I asked about him, I was told he was already at the jacuzzi and we were to meet up with him there. We walked into the pool room - he was there alright - not relaxing in the water as I had imagined - lying on the cement floor next to the jacuzzi doing his physical therapy exercises! The inspiration I have gotten from Ron's hard work lives within me.
He wasn't all about hard work but inspired laughter as well. His sense if humor made sense to me and I will cherish the emails he has sent over the last decade. I always looked forward to seeing him, he will be deeply missed.
Ron’s sister Margaret adds:
My favorite memories of Ron are when I think of him with his animals (cats, dogs and rabbits) and the puppies that he and Chris raised for Guide Dogs for the Blind. Ron had a quiet nature that animals gravitated to and he could often be found with a cat on his lap and a dog at his side. I have fond memories of the backyard in Salt Lake City where there were rabbits living in an intricate rabbit house around the tree, cats in the house or the woodshop or the yard, and Pepper doing what Ron called "bark-a-robics" on the fence with the neighbor's dog. Even after Ron was in a wheelchair, he still had his cat Skipper on his lap. I have no doubt that many animals were lovingly waiting for Ron when he crossed over to the other side.
I echo my sister Denise's statement that Ron was more like a brother than a brother-in-law. Ron and Laura got married when I was a young girl and he has been a part of our family ever since. He will be missed.
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