Ronald Clair Delosie

Ron was born at home in Toledo, Ohio on July 15, 1932 to Clement Clair Losie and Ora Almeda Gardner. His mother passed away when he was a young child. This was a hardship that impacted Ron for his entire life. His dad worked nights for the railroad and slept days, so he was raised by himself and his siblings, who were much older. He spent weekends with his sister Fran and her husband “Red” O’Leary, where he enjoyed running water and homemade food. His dad operated a small farm for supplemental income, resulting in childhood memories of breaking open watermelons to eat the heart and running head-first into a hay wagon in a dark cornfield.

Ron was a drum major at Clay High School before enlisting in the Air Force. He was stationed in various locations in Texas and often relied on hitchhiking to visit home. He played the trumpet while serving in the Air Force and loved to play for many years, grieving when he lost his ability to play. He played Taps at funerals across many states.

Ron legally changed his last name mid-life, believing he had French ancestry. The pronunciation changed from “LOW-see” to “Dee-LOW-see-ay.” During his lifetime, Ron was married to Joan Cowell, Lillian Taft, Jean Ferris, and Shirley Parker. Whether born to him or loved by him, Ron considered the following his children: Christine, Karen, Renee, Anissa, Danny, David, Janice, Jaime, and Cherish. In his later years, he “adopted” more children to love: Cynthia Baines, Alisha Daniels, Patricia Commisso, and Christina and Jessica Hunt. He was blessed with grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.

Ron tolerated a few family cats and loved a few dogs, especially his childhood dog, Corky.

For 40+ years, Ron served faithfully in many capacities as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He loved to tinker and could fix just about anything on a TV, house, or car. He taught all of his kids basic car maintenance. With the help of family, Ron built a house in Romoland, CA, customized with hot water radiators, a bay window, built-in cabinets, and more. In his younger years, he was a motorcycle mechanic at his brother-in-law’s garage. This led to blessing many neighbors and church members’ lives through car repairs. Ron worked as an electronics technician at Metropolitan Water District until he was forced to retire in 1991 due to a back injury.

Ron liked ice in his milk, peanut butter on his ice cream, watching sports on TV (for many years, the Lakers), old musicals, and chatting with family. He disliked hosting family parties and spent too much money trying to profit from MLM businesses.

Ron would always joke by flipping or changing words around, like “go to the store to buy a half gallon of bread and loaf of milk” or telling us the story of “Rindercella” instead of “Cinderella.” Chris remembers he taught her that in order to succeed, you need to figure it out on your own. Renee recalls when firemen had to rescue her from a 100’ flagpole at age 5, but Dad reassured her she would be okay if she scooted down a little bit at a time. She is still strong as an ox. Renee and Cherish remember numerous times with Dad flying glider airplanes and kites in open fields. The older kids remember times at Pearson Park almost every weekend and believe Dad enjoyed it more than they did!

Ron passed away in July 2024 in Menifee, California, and will be interred at Riverside National Cemetery on July 15. No services will be held. In lieu of flowers, please donate to your favorite charity.