DR. RONALD J. BUSACK, DVM

DR. RONALD BUSACK, DVM, age 67. Owner and Veterinarian at Bartels & Busack Pet Hospital, Parma, Ohio. Beloved husband of Lora (nee Bires). Loving father of Matthew Busack and Renee Mullen (Cody). Devoted grandfather of Landon, Kennedy, Arianna and Luke Mullen. Son of James (deceased) and Rose Busack. Dear brother of Dr. James Busack (Halinah Rizzo-Busack), David Busack (Nancy), Annette Witchey (deceased) (David) and Christine McKeets (deceased) (Scott). Special uncle, cousin and friend of many. 

Dr. Ronald J Busack passed away peacefully on Oct 6, 2023, after a long battle with lymphoma. Ron was born September 26, 1956 in Bellaire, OH. His parents Rose Busack and his late father James Busack Sr. welcomed him to a large Italian family that already included James Busack, Annette Witchey, David Busack, and later Christine McKeets.

At a very early age, his dad recruited Ron to work at the family grocery business that he ran with his two brothers. The Busack family was innovative for their time, the grocery store was run out of a truck that had a refrigerator strapped to it as well as commonly purchased items that people could purchase from while doing their routes in the hills of the Ohio Valley. His brothers, cousins and he were recruited to deliver groceries to each person’s doorstep (take that Amazon Fresh!). As the business became more successful, Busack’s IGA was opened in downtown Bellaire. Once again, his older brothers and Ron were recruited to help stocking shelves, running the registers, and later, he became the butcher. The irony of being a butcher in a grocery store was not lost on him later on in life as a veterinarian. Through his time at the grocery store, he learned two important lessons. The first was the value of hard work and the second was he did not want to work in a grocery store ever again. The best way for him to end up on a different career path was to go to college. He attended college at The Ohio State University that he paid for with the money earned at the grocery store, a few years as a bouncer in college and with the money he raised while renting out parking spots in his lawn on campus for Ohio State games.

As a small boy, Ron was an incredibly quiet child (or at least when compared to others in his boisterous close-knit Italian family) and a curious one, too. He would recount many stories that illustrated his inquisitive nature. The one story he always told was how his sister Annette and him were playing in the woods, and they found a dead animal. The two of them proceeded to dissect that animal which piqued his curiosity on how animals functioned. With Ron’s relentless curiosity, during his junior year, he applied to the College of Veterinary Medicine. Finding a kindred history buff spirit on the admissions board, he was accepted into the program. He never graduated undergrad but as he put it later on, “What do I care, I’m going to be a veterinarian.” Going through vet school, Ron continued his academic success and inquisitive nature much to the chagrin of his classmates. Multiple stories have been told about how he would continue to question lecturers far after a lecture had ended and kept his classmates late. Ron was a member of Phi Zeta, the Veterinary Honors Society. He graduated from The Ohio State University Cum Laude. 

After graduating in 1981, he went back home to start his career and to build a life with the woman he loved Lora Lee Bire. The two first met while he was in undergrad and had come for a college break. He was out at a bar playing foosball and she happened to catch his eye. His first job out of college was in a mixed animal practice near his hometown. It was he and one other veterinarian, who cared for the entire county. Calls happened at all hours of the day, and it was not uncommon for him to bring his soon-to- be wife along for the ride. Ron and Lora married on October 17, 1981.

He continued to practice in that mixed animal practice but knew that he wanted more for his family and started looking for jobs. He took a job with Dr. Harry Bartels in Parma, OH in 1983. Dr. Bartels and Dr. Busack continued to build their business and Ron took every opportunity to learn how to run a veterinary clinic. Shortly after moving to Parma, he welcomed his son Ronald Matthew Busack on January 13, 1984. A few years later his family grew again when his daughter Renee Michelle Busack (Mullen) was born on December 6, 1986.

Ron continued to grow and learn with Dr. Bartels. In the early 90’s Ron became business partners with Dr. Bartels and the Parma practice was renamed Bartels Busack

Pet Clinic. The two of them went on to open a second Bartels Busack Pet Clinic in Garfield Heights. Ron or Dr. B as he became affectionately known, continued to grow

his business through community involvement, practicing high-quality medicine, and building trust with his patients and clients. His clientele would tell you that he just has a way about him that just exuded confidence and trust. He knew how to make people feel as though they could trust him with the most important things in their lives. He wasn’t only a veterinarian in the exam room but a confidant, a therapist, and a friend. As Dr. Bartels, prepared for retirement, he offered Ron the opportunity to take over all 3 hospitals. He knew there was more to life than work and declined the offer. He opted to just buy out the Parma practice and be there for his wife and children. 

Ron/Dr. B had a never-ending supply of energy most likely from an iced tea addiction. No one understood how he could work a 10-hour day, go home to help cook dinner, play catch with his son, lift weights, and then tuck both of his kids in bed and make up a new bedtime story every night. He never slowed down no matter if he was 30 or 60. He believed that the minute you slowed down was the minute time caught up to you and you got old. That tenacity allowed him to build his practice to where it is today. In 2009 he opened the current Bartels Busack Pet Hospital Resort & Spa. Since opening the hospital, he has had the opportunity to work with and mentor multiple high school students, college students, RVTs, and veterinarians. His passion since he was a child was always vet med and truly believed it was the greatest calling in this world. He never felt he worked a day in his life because he loved what he did so much. Each day he would try to brighten the faces of anyone he could with cheesy dad jokes, his terrible singing/butchering of song lyrics, and rice crispy treats. He took every opportunity that he could to talk to as many people as he could, and he truly listened and cared what you had to say. He wanted to leave a mark on as many people’s lives as possible. It didn’t matter if you were a Chipotle cashier or a friend of 20 years, he would go out of his way to improve their day if he could. This is part of the reason why he was named citizen of the month in Parma and was given a key to the city.

In his later years, his grandkids were all he could talk about and you could almost forget that he had a son and daughter the way he carried on about them. You could look at his desk and there were multiple pictures of the grandkids and only one picture that contained both Renee and Matt. It wouldn't be uncommon for him to carry all of those pictures into an exam room just to show a client how proud he was of them. At the end of every day, he went home to the only thing he loved and cherished most, his family. There was not a thing in this world that would separate him from his wife, kids, and especially his grandkids, Landon, Kennedy, Arianna, and Luke. 

He left this world with no regrets or wants. He was a simple man and simple things made him happy. Time with his family, good food, and an iced tea were all he would ask for. Though he wished for his ashes to be launched into the Ohio River via water balloon slingshot, we decided it would be better for his friends and family to celebrate his life at the A. Ripepi and Sons Funeral Home on Sunday, Oct 15, 2023, from 1 PM to 5 PM and during a funeral mass on Monday, Oct 16 at 10 AM  

The family asks that instead of flowers that donations be made to the Parma Animal Shelter,6260 State Road, Parma, Ohio 44134 or just take the time to sit down with your own friends and family and remember him fondly. Annette and Chris, your brother has come back to you. Take good care of him now as you did when you were kids. He will be missed more than he will ever know.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Monday October 16, 2023 at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 6750 State Road, Parma, Ohio at 10 AM. EVERYONE PLEASE MEET AT CHURCH The family will receive friends Sunday October 15, 2023 from 1 - 5 PM at THE A. RIPEPI AND SONS FUNERAL HOME, 18149 BAGLEY ROAD, MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS, OHIO (WEST of I-71)