Ronald Lee Jessee

Ronald Lee Jessee was raised in Newport Beach and born 3-15-41 and he passed away 9-22-19. His family loved to hear that he was one of the few boys that attended Newport Beach Elementary School barefoot! It was a school on the beach so why not - right? Our father played baseball at Newport Harbor High School and also was an excellent member of Future Farmers of America where he won huge amounts of awards for showing cattle in Pomona. For a beach boy, yes he always did things his way. He was the proud son of Robert and Audrey Jessee. His sister was Anita Jessee. The three of them are also buried at Fairhaven and my Dad will be buried close to them alongside our Mom Christina. Our parents met while attending Cal Poly Pomona in college. They met at a dance and for their lifetime together they continued to enjoy dancing together to tunes from Elvis Presley and the Doobie Brothers. They married soon after completing college and our Father went into the Army and became distinguished Army Lieutenant. He took care of all of the Army vehicles and associated items. A fun story that he loved to share is also in a family picture, where his college best friend Gary Pickett had to salute him in the Army as his Lieutenant. We also loved saying that our Father was an accomplished member of the Nations' Army Golf team. He was an excellent golfer and won many tournaments. His girls - Christina, Gina, Amy and Jenefer were always so proud of him. His talent and adoration of the sport shaped a big part of his life. He was president of Mesa Verde Country Club for a few years and cherished many friendships there. He was a loving Father and Husband - he was a rock of stability for the family and its something we always knew to count on. He made sure his family went to the Colorado River every summer for a fantastic waterskiing vacation. In addition, he took the family to Lake Tahoe to go snow skiing every Christmas. We shared wonderful memories there and loved sharing the family cabin with the Lamrock Family. Our Dad and John Lamrock founded Plant Material Brokers and Southwest Growers and Landscaping in the 70's and have enjoyed an extremely successful partnership until today. John and our Father were also best friends. The companies were recently sold but the love for the business and running them together kept them doing handpicked projects. The friendship John and Ron shared was a huge part of the success of their beloved business. It doesn't surprise us that our Father did business with who he loved and did it in the golf course industry - again - doing it his way and in an industry he loved.

He was a man that loved competition. Whether it was in playing Gin on Saturdays at Mesa Verde Country Club, playing pool on a team at Patrick's Pub or going to horse races - he was always engaged. Patrick's Pub was his "place" and we will also have his celebration of life there. He was such good friends with the owners, Vinnie and Donna Jean Hicks.

Our Father loved country western music. Realizing that he raised and showed cattle while living in Newport Beach always made us wonder if he would have been better suited as a cowboy somewhere. He often liked that topic and said he would have been well suited to have lived in the wild west. Our Dad recently took a ride in Gina's new car and he promptly told her the satellite radio was not perfect - the country western station Willies Roadhouse wasn't on the radio. Our parents played a lot of country music growing up but also took their daughters to many concerts growing up which developed a deep love of music.

Ron is survived by his 3 daughters, Gina Jessee Cereda, Amy Lee Jessee and Jenefer Lee Gregg. His 3 girls always knew they could count on him for all of the important things that needed to be done. We enjoyed his humor and we enjoyed that he got a kick out of his spirited children. We have been close for a lifetime but the past 6 years have become even closer. This 6 year time period was our time with just him after our beloved Mom passed away. He has taught us so many things about being responsible human beings but of course, having a little fun along the way. Our Dad was the most loyal man we have ever met and had many lifelong friends he cherished and they also cherished him. He will be missed by many and most of all by his loving daughters. RIP Ronald Lee Jessee.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.fairhavenmemorial.com for the Jessee family.