Ronald Eugene Dykes

Ron was born on November 4, 1946, in Sacramento, California, to Hazel M. Erickson. He served in the United States Navy during the Vietnam era aboard the USS Perch, USS Tunny, USS Medregal, and USS Thomas Jefferson. After the Navy, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Connecticut and later attended the Georgetown University Ophthalmic Technician Training Program.

Ron converted to Catholicism in early 1972 and married Rita on July 1 of that year. They shared more than 54 years of marriage.

His career in ophthalmology took him from Vermont to Saudi Arabia and eventually to Texas. He later founded Diamatrix, where his artistic eye, technical skill, and inventive mind were strengthened by the friendships he built with surgeons, colleagues, and mentors whose ideas and encouragement helped shape both the company and the instruments it created.

A lifelong artist and adventurer, Ron painted, photographed, sculpted, fished, sailed, skied, rode motorcycles, traveled widely, and loved being on and under the water. Through his studio, Art of the Eye, he shared his belief that because we are made in the image of the Creator, we are called to create.

Ron was deeply devoted to his faith and family. At Sts. Simon and Jude Catholic Church, he served as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, taught CCE to parish youth, belonged to the Knights of Columbus, and participated in mission work.

He was known for his intelligence, wit, remarkable vocabulary, loyalty, grit, and for always showing up when someone he loved needed him.

Ron was preceded in death by his mother, Hazel M. Erickson; his brother, John Dykes; and his sister, Gail Voss.

He is survived by his wife, Rita Dykes; his son, Matthew Dykes and his wife, Brandi; his daughter, Michelle Underhill and her husband, Ryan; his grandchildren, Maddie, Olivia, Jameson, Fallon, and Pearson; and many extended family members and friends.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial donations be made to Loving Choice Pregnancy Help Center, Tunnel to Towers, or The Wounded Warrior Project.

Visitation and a Rosary will be held Friday, October 2, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at The Woodland Funeral Home & Cemetery, 18000 I 45 S, The Woodlands, Texas. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated Saturday, October 3, at 12:30 p.m. at Sts. Simon and Jude Catholic Church, 26777 Glenloch Drive, The Woodlands, Texas. A Rosary will be prayed in the chapel prior to Mass at 12:00pm, and a reception will immediately follow at the church.