Ron Phelps

He was born in Baltimore, MD, on September 19, 1942, to Grace and Charles Phelps. He grew up in a row house in Southwest Baltimore, one of six siblings. By age 17 he entered the Marine Corps. He attended Boot Camp at Paris Island, SC and then eventually wound up at Camp Pendleton, CA. During his time with the Marines, he served two years in the Military Police, so it was natural that when he got out, he would become a policeman. After serving a short while with the Baltimore PD, he moved his family to California and joined the Los Angeles Police Department where he became a Homicide Detective. During his time there, he developed a love of boating and scuba diving, and he became one of the founders and Training Coordinator for LAPD’s elite Dive Team. He also joined the Catalina Island Yacht Club in 1996 and served as its Commodore in 2003. After 26 years with LAPD, he retired and entered the private sector as Security Manager for Union Oil in San Pedro, CA. After 12 years there, he retired and moved to Henderson, NV. Always the hard worker, he then joined the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department part-time handling identify theft cases.

Sadly, Ron became a widower at age 27, leaving him with three small sons to raise. Over the next few years, he would remarry and end up fathering a total of seven children (Ronnie, Roger, James, Christine, John, Jennifer and Amy). Then in 1983 he met his soul mate and the love of his life, Paula. They married in 1985 and would spend the next 42 years together enjoying an active life.

He is preceded in death by his parents, sister Claudette Benfer and brothers Jim and John. He is survived by his wife, Paula, his sisters Paula Hilton and Holly Dale, as well as all seven of his children. He was an honorable man who was loved and will be greatly missed by his family and all who knew him.

His funeral will be held on June 5, at 10:40am at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City, NV.