Ron Ziska was one of 3 boys and grew up in Signal Hill, IL and spent time on his family's farm on the weekends. He and his brother Dave and father Fred had horses and he loved playing cowboys and Indians on horseback and hunting, fishing and playing cards with the extended family. He met his future wife Ruth (Sporleder) in 9th grade at Belleville High, where Ron played basketball and worked at his family’s business “Ziska Coal & Hauling”. After high school Ron attended and graduated from Washington University. He married his high school sweetheart Ruth in 1956, and they had their first daughter Gay Lynn in 1957. Ron first worked for the state of Illinois Highway Dept. Then spent the majority of his career as an appraiser and property manager for Metropolitan Life Insurance. Ron and Ruth had 2 more daughters, Leslie Ann and Penny Dale and moved to TN, NC and then GA where he eventually retired.
Ron had a kind, gentle, fun-loving nature and never had a cross word for anyone he ever met. He was the life of the party and enjoyed talking to people. He was a true original in everything he did, he took his trumpet to baseball games, drove a VW bug with a horn under the hood that played 65 tunes (including Dixie), he loved TN Walking Horses, spending time at the beach with friends, BBQ, ANY kind of fishing, Al Jolson and Elvis Presley. He was very creative, as he was an avid oil painter and he enjoyed drawing. He loved the outdoors and walking in the woods, and he could make anything fun and interesting.
Ron was a beloved son, brother, husband, father, uncle, best friend, artist, oil painter, trumpet player, nature lover, camper, fisherman, cook, confidant, teacher, elder, bible studier and follower of Jesus Christ. He was loved by everyone that knew him and will be truly missed by all.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Fred M. and Mulvina Adele (nee Henderson) Ziska; daughter Leslie A. Ziska, brothers David Ziska and Fred Ziska Jr. (known as Charlie boy).
Surviving to cherish his memory are his wife of 61 years, Ruth M. Ziska (nee Sporleder); his children, Gay Lynn and Penny Dale Ziska; his brother David’s wife Julie O. Ziska and Davids’ children; his brother-in-law Pete and Pat Mode, sister-in-law Shirley and Donald Baldwin, and all the offspring of these individuals and cousins.
Memorials are appreciated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Condolences may also be expressed online www.lakeviewfuneralhm.com.
Visitation: Friends may call from 12 Noon to 1 p.m., Friday, December 15, 2017 at Lake View Funeral Home, Fairview Heights, Illinois.
Funeral: Services will be held at 1 p.m., Friday, December 15, 2017 at the funeral home. Interment will follow in Lake View Memorials Gardens, Fairview Heights, Illinois.
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