Ronald John Hrapsky

Ronald John Hrapsky passed away in the early morning hours of Sunday, October 27, 2024 at 85 years of age. Ron had suffered for 6 years from the rare disease, Cardiac Amyloidosis which was diagnosed at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Ron was born in Nesquehoning, a small coal mining town in eastern Pennsylvania near the Pocono Mountains, on July 31, 1939. His father, John (Sam) Hrapsky (who came to America from Austria at the age of 5) and grandfather had been anthracite coal miners in Nesquehoning, and Ron’s father died at an early age of black lung disease. Ron’s mother, Anna Watto Hrapsky, also predeceased him. Ron is survived by one brother, John Samuel Hrapsky who resides in Allentown, PA and by Ron’s son, RJ Hrapsky and wife, Fran, who reside in Issue, Maryland.

Ron and Joyce Finch Lawson met in Houston and dated from 1976 to 1983, and were married on April 22, 1983 by Dr. Lester Collins at Tallowood Baptist Church and had a loving, fun marriage for 41 years. They made many travels and cruises abroad over Ron’s last few years.

Joyce’s sons have always been a big part of Ron’s life and he considered them his natural born sons, treating them always as his own. Jerry Lawson and his wife, Bridgette, live in Gulf Breeze, Florida. Jerry’s daughter, Melody, and her husband, Sam Clark, have now moved to Austin from LA. Their daughters are Lucy Ray (4) and Francis (Frankie) June (2). They loved their Grandpa Happy. Jerry’s son, Samuel James Lawson resides in Ft. Worth.

Jay Scott Lawson and former wife, Lisa, live in Houston, Texas. Their daughters are Rebeckah Lawson who resides and works in Waco; Ashley and husband, Chris Richards, live in Waller, Tx with 3 year old Maverick Duke and 7 month old Ivy Reign; Rachel Lawson resides in Houston; and Katie Lawson resides in Caldwell and both are working on college degrees.

Ron attended Bethlehem Business College in Bethlehem, PA, graduating in 1959, with a degree in Accounting and Finance. He also majored in Business Administration at Penn State University.

Ron was 6’5.5” in stature and played basketball in high school for the Mauch Chunk Township High School in Nesquehoning, graduating in 1957. Being tall, he was also so sweet when the elderly or someone shorter asked him to reach for something on upper shelves. He and his brother John spent many hours fly fishing in the Pennsylvania rivers and streams and gathering mushrooms in the mountainside forest when they were growing up. Ron loved fishing. He also loved the UT Longhorn and Penn State football games. Before his illness, Ron never met anyone he could not carry on a conversation with, no matter the topic. He was also very knowledgeable in all facts and stats of any sports. His sense of humor was unparalleled. He was even gracious when people would tell a Polish joke (thinking the name Hrapsky was Polish), even though he was the son of an Austrian immigrant father and a mother with Czechoslovakian heritage.

Ron was a very loving and faithful husband, supporting Joyce in every endeavor. They were each other’s love of their lives. Ron often commented that he wished they had met earlier in life.

Highlights of his career included Vice President at GAC Financial Services with offices in El Paso, Denver and San Francisco, the East Coast and Puerto Rico; Director of Operations/Vice President of ITT Aetna Management Co. in St. Louis, Missouri; General Manager at Bland Cadillac in Houston, Texas; General Manager of West Houston Infiniti in Houston, Texas; and Personal Financial Advisor with American Express Financial Advisors in Austin, Texas.

Ron was raised in St. John’s Russian Orthodox Church in Pennsylvania and became a Christian at an early age. After he and Joyce moved to Joyce’s hometown of Austin, they joined Park Hills Baptist Church, a Southern Baptist church, where Ron was baptized. When they learned that Dr. Ralph Smith of Hyde Park Baptist had become interim pastor at newly-formed Austin Baptist, they became charter members there. Currently they have been attending Hyde Park Baptist, where Joyce grew up and worked for Dr. Smith for many years. Ron had no fear of dying and meeting his Saviour when it was his time. He had great faith and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ.

A visitation for Ronald will be held Monday, November 4, 2024 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Cook-Walden/Capital Parks Funeral Home in Pflugerville. A funeral service be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. in the funeral home chapel. Following the service, he will be laid to rest at Cook-Walden/Capital Parks Cemetery.