Ronald L. Ziuraitis

Ronald L. Ziuraitis was a modest man, quiet and observant in his ways. He was trustworthy and traditional in his approach to his life and in his relationships. He was tough-minded with the kind of “stick to it” attitude that earned the respect of all who knew him. He was also a man who was meticulous, carefully disciplined, and orderly in virtually everything he undertook. Realistic about life, he was always at the ready, prepared to take on responsibility.

Ronald was born on September 4, 1940 at home in Mankunai, Raseinai, Lithuania. His parents were Leonas Ziuraitis and Brone Markevicius. Ronald was raised in Marquette Park in Chicago, Illinois by his mother and stepfather, Brone and Brunious Bendoraitis. He was brought up to be self-confident and dependable. These were traits that would serve him well throughout his life.

As a young child, Ronald was never someone who needed to be the center of attention. He wasn’t pushy and never forced his way into games or other activities. Ronald developed a variety of interests, though, and the things he enjoyed doing he did well. He was always curious about the world around him and was often eager to explore it. Ronald took part in tennis, and in his spare time he liked collecting stamps and playing the accordion. However, what Ronald enjoyed most was simply playing and spending time with his many friends.

While his teachers and even his friends generally thought of Ronald as being a serious person, he managed to have a pretty good time in high school as he made that critical transition from adolescence to adulthood. He graduated from Saint Rita High School in June 1957. His favorite classes in high school were history and math. In addition to graduating high school at age 16, he will be remembered by classmates for having his own band. Ronald was a very logical person who enjoyed learning about factual information. Using his exceptional memory, he was able to learn much through observation. Ronald always seemed to have a command of the facts and was able to make it seem as though he could easily master any problem that might be presented to him.

College life brought with it a new set of challenges, but Ronald handled them well. Being a critical thinker who always remained intellectually independent, Ronald was able to focus on the task at hand in order to complete his class work. He seemed to thrive on college reading assignments, something that often bogged down his classmates. Ronald was able to read the material and retain the information in a way that impressed his fellow classmates. The ability to efficiently complete the task at hand was a skill that served Ronald well during his college experience. He earned his Associates degree in Business Administration, graduating with honors. His favorite courses were programming and accounting. During college, Ronald was a member of the Philapic Society.

Always considered to be a solid friend, Ronald was fortunate to have numerous acquaintances and several very close friends during his life. Since he disliked making generalizations about people and preferred to draw his own conclusions based on direct observation, Ronald was able to see beneath the surface of relationships and became a true friend to those who knew him. He was committed to his friends and valued the trust he placed in them. It was not uncommon for Ronald to go beyond the call of duty for others, and friends frequently sought him out for advice because he had a knack for coming up with practical solutions to any type of dilemma. While growing up, some of his best friends were Reggie, Wally, Mario, Vida, Johnny, Irene, and Duke.

On October 24, 1981 Ronald exchanged wedding vows with Alyce Jewel Kulhmeyer at the Little White Chapel of Las Vegas, Nevada. Compassionate and devoted to Alyce, Ronald held endearing, traditional values about marriage and family life. He took the responsibility of marriage to heart, giving it his total commitment. He was a source of strength to Alyce and using his gifts at nurturing one-on-one relationships, he worked hard to make his new family happy.

Ronald brought the same traditional values in his marriage to bear on how he raised his children. He was a good parent to them, always firm yet fair in his dealings. He would always listen carefully and think things through before he acted, even when it was an adverse situation. Ronald was also a walking schedule, always seeming to know what everyone in the family needed to do, where they needed to be and when they needed to be there. Ronald was blessed with six children- three sons, Romas, Antanas, and Todd and three daughters, Kristina, Karen, and Joana. He was also blessed with 12 grandchildren: Kristopher, Yvonne, Ashlee, Tyler, Antanas, Andre, Alina, Aurelija, Ron Andrew, Miranda, Jessee, and Zoe.

Ronald greatly enjoyed what he did for a living. He was a hard worker who expected the same in return from his co-workers. He was skilled at working effectively in small groups and in one-on-one situations as well as handling solo assignments efficiently. Ronald enjoyed dealing with concrete ideas and could penetrate any amount of fuzzy information to reach the essential facts. Always able to attend to the task at hand, Ronald was excellent at meeting deadlines. He was an efficient worker, one who paid careful attention to detail, allowing sufficient time to complete one task before moving on to the next. His primary occupations were in sales, business administration, accounting, and auditing. He was employed for three years by John Morreli and two years for Dow Corporation on Wall Street in New York. Ronald worked hard to be a team player, doing what was necessary in order to get the job done.

Ronald was an Army veteran but was discharged for being 1.5 inches too tall according to regulations. A literal thinker who possessed a calm exterior, Ronald seemed to enjoy the routines set forth by the military. His results-oriented approach to things made him committed to the job, and he understood well his role in serving his country.

Ronald liked to experience things first-hand as well as learn about them. This trait carried over into his hobbies, where he was very methodical in how he organized his activities and categorized things. Since he enjoyed his private time, Ronald always tried to allocate a specific time for working on his hobbies. His favorite pursuits were playing pool, talking about politics, and collecting stamps and coins. Ronald was content to enjoy his hobbies alone but was also willing to share his interests with others.

Ronald found pleasure in sports. Being a person who was comfortable making win/lose decisions throughout life, he could appreciate that athletes made those types of decisions in sports. He applauded those who won, and he enjoyed the statistical data and sports facts and could find himself wrapped up in those details. In high school and college, Ronald played tennis, which he continued to play casually into his adult years. Other recreational sports included bowling. He also enjoyed watching his favorite sporting events whenever he got the opportunity. Tops on his list were the Chicago Bears football, Chicago Bulls basketball, and Black Hawks hockey.

Many organizations were grateful to have Ronald as a member, since he always brought with him a “stick to it” attitude and a high degree of common sense. Using straightforward methods to successfully complete the job, Ronald was a great planner who was incredibly well organized. It seemed that he was able to schedule any event or activity with ease. He always seemed to know exactly what needed to be done. Throughout his later years, Ronald was an active member of the Nativity BVM Athletic Association.

Ronald was a man who was dedicated and devoted to his faith. He was a member of the Roman Catholic Nativity BVM Church for 33 years. He was a sympathetic man who valued his beliefs and was willing to work tirelessly for them. A special moment came in 1977 when Pope John Paul II drove down California Street, where Ronald's house was located.

Ronald enjoyed traveling and taking vacations. Since he was an early starter and had a knack for planning everything, traveling with Ronald appeared effortless. He enjoyed researching all of his examined options and applying cost-effective planning techniques. Plus, no matter where he traveled, Ronald always had a back up plan at the ready, just in case. Favorite vacations included Las Vegas, Nevada; South Haven, Michigan; Chicago, Illinois; and Union Pier, Michigan.

Ronald was a lover of animals and cherished his pets. Two of Ronald’s favorites were Princess, a German Shepherd and Husky, a Collie. They were best friends for nine years. His family was rounded out by his cats, Baby, Mama, and Simon.

When Ronald’s retirement finally arrived in 1998, he was well prepared. He always trusted and placed value in what was logical and in the things he knew, so he was very confident in planning his retirement. He had begun the process early and had his retirement all laid out well in advance. His new life involved relocating to Las Vegas, Nevada. In retirement, he found new pleasure in collecting music boxes and soldier nutcrackers.

Ronald L. Ziuraitis passed away on January 23, 2011 at St. Rose Delima after fighting a brave battle against kidney disease and suffering from pneumonia. He is survived by his beloved wife, Alyce; his children, Romas (Tamee), Kristina, Antanas (Mari), Joana (Vytas), Karen (Rich), and Todd (Andrea); and his 12 grandchildren: Kristopher, Yvonne, Ashlee, Ronnie, Jessee, Andre, Antanas, Alina, Aurelia, Miranda, Zoe, and Tyler. Services were held at Palm Mortuary, Eastern Chapel. Ronald was laid to rest in Palm Eastern Cemetery in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Commitment is a key word that can be used to describe the life of Ronald L. Ziuraitis. He was committed to living the life of a good man who was both practical and trustworthy. He was committed to the traditional values that he upheld his entire life. He committed himself to being a hard worker who expected the same effort in return from those around him. Most of all, he was committed to those he knew and loved.

Arrangements under the direction of Palm Eastern Funeral Home, Las Vegas, NV.