Ronald David Sukenick

Ron was born in Bronx, NY to Sidney Sukenick and Yetta (Rennert) Sukenick on July 1st, 1949. He graduated from the New York High School of Printing in Manhattan, NY where he was on the bowling team. He married Yvonne (Odle) Sukenick on October 11th, 1980 in Beverly Hills, California. He studied Graphic Arts and Advertising at the New York City Community College and majored in Marketing at IUPUI.

He joined the Army on November 27th, 1967 and served in Vietnam as a petroleum specialist whose mission was to deliver jet fuel up and down the Mekong Delta. After his service finished, he spent 3 years traveling Europe and South America. Upon returning to the USA, he continued to serve this country in the Army reserves and was mobilized as an Army Career Counselor in the 88th Regional Readiness Command, eventually becoming a Veteran retiree. Ron was passionate about supporting service men and women from all branches of the military. He was extremely honored to be selected as one of the 25 national Cadre speakers for the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program through the Office of the Secretary of Defense. As a Cadre speaker, he received many acknowledgements for his ability to motivate and inspire tens of thousands of service members and their families for many years. Ron served the City of Indianapolis on the Mayor’s Advisory Council on Veteran’s Affairs. He was the Vice President – Chapter 295 for the Vietnam Veterans of America and on the Board of Directors for the Veteran Support Council.

Ron was a lifelong entrepreneur. As a 6-year-old boy living in NYC, he would charge his neighbors 5 cents a bag to take their trash out. As his career evolved, he was a paid musician, record label exec, and real estate agent before leading the expansion of the largest business networking referral system in the world. He became a full-time professional speaker, trainer, and coach and founded The Relationship Strategies Institute, a global training, and business strategy company. Ron had 4 books published, including an Amazon bestseller, and was a contributing author to a New York Times bestseller. Ron was passionate about connecting people and always referenced what he called the 8 most powerful words in networking, “I know someone who can get that done.” He took great pride in helping small business owners go from where they are to where they want to be and was honored to lead networking groups in the region.

Being from the Bronx, he was a lifelong fan of the New York Yankees and became a fan of the Indianapolis Colts when he moved to Indiana with his family in 1988. Ron was a left-handed bass player who loved supporting live music, stand-up comedy and the arts. Anyone that knew him would know that he loved the Beatles and the impact they had on his life.

Ron is survived by his wife Yvonne Sukenick; his children Freedom Sukenick (wife Heidi Sukenick) and daughter Christine Sukenick-Dixon (husband Daniel Dixon); brother Jeff Sukenick (wife Elisa Sukenick); grandchildren Ethan, Jacob, and Isaac Sukenick. Ron is preceded in death by his parents, Sidney and Yetta (Rennert Sukenick).

His Celebration of Life, the Ultimate Networking Event, will be held at 4pm EDT on Thursday, June 30th, 2022 at Crown Hill Funeral Home. The eulogy will begin at 4:30pm EDT. Directly after Ron’s Farewell Message, he wanted everyone to stay and enjoy themselves with food, beverages, and networking.

Interment of ashes will take place at the Crown Hill National Cemetery Columbarium in Indianapolis, Indiana once the expansion is complete in the summer of 2022.

In lieu of flowers, Ron would like donations sent to the Veterans Support Council, www.veterans.ooo/donate.html