Ronald Fred Broadbent

Ronald Fred Broadbent, much-loved husband, father and grandfather, and a dedicated teacher and coach, died at age 86 on October 31, 2020, a few short weeks after the loss of his beloved wife of 63 years, Anne Jane (O’Shea) Broadbent. Ron was born on June 20, 1934 to Fred and Helen (Raforth) Broadbent and was raised in Brockport, New York. He graduated from Brockport High School in 1952, and from Brockport State Teachers College in 1956. As a boy, Ron was active in the YMCA, Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts of America. In high school Ron served as a class officer and was active in Student Council and school plays. He played several sports, receiving 11 Varsity letters, for soccer, basketball, track, cross country and baseball. Ron played JV baseball and Varsity basketball in college, but soccer was his true passion. He was the starting goalkeeper on the Brockport State team that won the 1955 National Soccer Championship (a title the Golden Eagles shared with Penn State). After graduating from college in 1956, Ron took a K-12 teaching position in Attica, New York. While there, he also coached JV basketball and track and field and was assistant football coach. He was fond of saying he “had a full career” in the three years he spent there. He and Anne were married in December 1956. In 1959 Ron was hired as a health and physical education teacher, JV basketball coach and head soccer coach at Spencerport Central School, where he taught for 31 years. As head soccer coach, Ron led championship teams for years, claiming 10 Monroe County Championships, 7 Section Five Championships, and participation in two NY State Championship playoff competitions. His 1975 team also earned the number one position in the New York State rankings. Many of Ron’s players became High School All Americans and went on to various levels of collegiate and professional play. Ron and Anne enjoyed traveling to soccer games on weekends to watch his former players compete. Ron also served as Spencerport’s Athletic Director in the 1970‘s. As the father of three girls and husband of a successful coach and Athletic Director in her own right, Ron was instrumental in expanding opportunities for high school girls to participate in Inter-scholastic athletic competition. During his years of teaching and coaching Ron was associated with several athletic and coaching organizations. He was the Monroe County Soccer Chairman, Chairman of the Section V Soccer group; and NY State Soccer Chairman (where he was instrumental in the establishment of the NYS Soccer Championships in 1968, first held at Cornell University). He was also a member of such professional education associations as the Spencerport Teachers Association, NY State Teachers Association and its then affiliate AFT-AFL-CIO. In 1978 Ron became a member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), the largest coaching organization in the world. He served for 16 years in various capacities, including vice presidential positions in charge of the convention, the association awards, and the coaching academy development. He served as President in 1992 and provided direction in transitioning the Association from a volunteer-led organization with the hiring a full time Executive Director. Meanwhile, Ron returned to his alma mater in 1980 and served as Brockport State’s Head Soccer Coach for three years. Ron was the recipient of numerous awards and honors over his teaching and coaching career. These included the Brockport High School Wall of Honor; Spencerport High School Hall of Fame: NY State Soccer Coaches Hall of Fame; Section V Soccer Hall of Fame; SUNY Brockport Hall of Fame; NSCAA’s highest award possible-the Honor Award, NSCCA Hall of Fame and NSCAA Letter of Commendation. His name was included in the book “America’s Greatest Coaches”, and he was National High School Federation Regional Coach of the Year, and then in 1980 was named National High School Federation National Coach of the Year. He was a charter member of the BSTC Hall of Heritage Award, Hartwell Society and the Prometheus Society. Despite the time these activities required of him, Ron was a dedicated husband and father. School vacations were always travel times when he and Anne would pack up the car and the girls and travel to various historical sites on the East Coast, and to Florida to visit with friends. Ron and Anne later enjoyed visits with their grandchildren in Virginia for birthday celebrations, holidays and various athletic and musical endeavors. In later years, they made annual visits north to visit their daughters in North Carolina, Virginia and New York as well as friends in Brockport. Their trips usually ended with a week at Lake George in the Adirondacks in the Fall—just long enough to remind them why they moved to the warmer climes of Florida after retiring from teaching in 1990. Since moving to Florida, Ron and Anne have made their home in Homosassa. The consummate busy-bee served on the Civic Association Board of Directors and was President for two years. He was a charter member of the Citrus County Water Authority Board for eight years (and was its Chairman for four of those years). He also served on several committees in Oak Village and Hammocks Villas and at age 86 was still working in real estate. He was a member of the St. Thomas Catholic Church in Homosassa and a past member of the Kiwanis Club and the Elks Club of Homosassa. Ron was known for his dry sense of humor and was always at the ready with his cache of “dad” jokes that somehow managed to get a laugh no matter how often you heard them. He also loved playing tennis and golf, and was a member of the Men’s Golf Association at both the Sugarmill Woods and the Southern Woods Country Clubs, as well as the Men’s Tennis Association. Ron also enjoyed playing cards, dominoes and other board games with Anne and their friends as well as travelling with Anne to foreign countries and throughout the United States. Ron is survived by daughters Kathleen (William) Horne of Purcellville, Virginia: grandchildren Daniel, William and Helen Horne; Barbara (Clifford) Sorel of Salisbury, North Carolina, and Patricia (Aaron) Sicherman of Liverpool, New York along with many cousins from his ten aunts and uncles in the Raforth, Maier, Bump and Broadbent families. For those wishing to honor Ron’s memory, the family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to a charity of your choice in his name. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Wilder Funeral Home, Homosassa, Florida. Plans for a celebration of Ron’s and Anne’s lives will be announced at a future date. Ron had a full and active life, dedicating himself to his family, friends, students and players over the years. Never one to sit still, he always strove to ensure that his life was of value to others. His greatest satisfaction was to share from a distance the success of those he had touched with his advice and good will—his family, friends, students, players, classmates and other associates. That dedication to and mentorship of others —along with his natural ability and desire to make a positive connection with everyone he came into contact with—will be greatly missed. www.wilderfuneral.com