Ronald Duane Gascho

Ron attended Northmont High School in Ohio, where he met the love of his life and soulmate, Maxine Baughman. He graduated in 1968, and attended Manchester College in Indiana. Ron and Maxine married on December 19, 1970. In 1972, he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, and they moved to Columbus, Ohio. Ron began his career as an accountant at Select Sires, then as the business manager at Select Embryos. Ron and Maxine welcomed their daughters, Gina and Kelly, into the family in 1973 and 1975. In 1983, the Gascho family moved to Kentucky, where he was the Assistant Vice President of Credit for the Louisville Bank for Cooperatives, which became CoBank in 1989. Ron remained with CoBank, taking on challenging assignments and providing excellent service and financing to Farm Credit customers, agribusiness, and rural infrastructure providers. Co-workers described Ron as a fantastic boss with an engaging personality and a quick wit, an honest and encouraging man who helped so many associates at CoBank during challenging growth opportunities throughout the years. His coaching and mentoring were always offered with words of wisdom at just the right time, and the friendships he created lasted well beyond his time as their manager. In 1996, Ron and Maxine moved from Spokane, Washington, to Denver, Colorado, where he retired in 2013.

Ron consistently demonstrated his desire to serve our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in every area of his life. Noteworthy among these was his service as a Deacon at Manito Presbyterian Church in Spokane from 1994-1996 and as a Ruling Elder of Cherry Hills Community Church in Highlands Ranch from 2003-2009. Ron served for five years on the Board of the Denver Rescue Mission, an organization committed to helping people experiencing homelessness and addiction. Ron came out of retirement during a time of transition at the Denver Seminary to serve as the Vice President of Advancement until 2015.

Ron was patient, kind, faithful, compassionate, and generous with his time, treasure, and talents. These qualities allowed him to mentor the next generation and give back to others through the Zoweh Elder Sage Initiative. He had a great sense of humor and loved to laugh; he enjoyed spending his free time fly fishing, woodworking, and golfing. Ron was a devoted husband, loving father, outstanding father-in-law, proud grandfather, and prouder great-grandfather; and his greatest joy came from his faith and family.

Ron is survived by his wife, Maxine Gascho; daughters: Gina Metcalfe, Kelly Burd and her husband Rob; grandchildren: Julian Burd and his wife Marriah, Molly Solano and her husband Joe, and Joshua Burd; great-grandson Grayson Burd; sisters: Charlotte Nichols and her husband Charlie, Joy McPherson, Gina Gascho; and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews.

A memorial service for Ron will be held on Monday, April 17, 2023, at 3:00 PM at Mission Hills, 620 Southpark Drive, Littleton, Colorado 80120. Those interested in watching the service live, may do so online at missionhills.org/streaming.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Ronald’s name to the Denver Rescue Mission.