Where: Ellen’s Kitchen, 241 3rd Street, Neptune Beach, FL 32266
On August 15, the Beaches lost a dear husband, father, grandfather, brother, chef, delivery man, umpire and friend. Rather than a traditional service, Ronnie’s friends at Ellen’s Kitchen, co-hosted by Cinotti’s Bakery and Martin’s Coffee, are hosting a celebration event in his honor.
Please come ready to tell stories, see old friends, and celebrate the amazing life of the one of a kind Ronnie. Attire is casual, so come as you are and join us to share a smile.
Please RSVP to: beasley011351@gmail.com
Ronald Dean Beasley, known to everyone as “Ronnie,” passed away unexpectedly on August 15, 2019. Born on January 13, 1951 to Gerry and Junior Beasley, he grew up working in the family’s restaurant business at the Rite Spot in Atlantic Beach. For the second half of his career he became a delivery and sales man, delivering for Martin’s Coffee for 25 years. He loved both careers and made countless friends of his coworkers and customers.
For those who knew him best, the more grief he gave, the more he liked you. He could get away with an inappropriate joke better than anyone, and always had a new one liner every week. “Meanness,” “Old man/woman,” and “old fart” were among his favorite salutations.
Ronnie never met a stranger. He could walk into a room and know everyone there before he walked out, but he was also fiercely private. More than that, he was also fiercely protective of those he loved, especially his wife of 34 years Donna, his only son, Ronnie Martin Beasley who survives him with his two beautiful daughters, Emma and Addison, along with baby boy Jacob. His mother Gerry lived with him and Donna for the past decade. If he called his son Ronnie 5 times a day, he called Emma 7 times. While he was their father and grandfather, he was also their best friend. To Ronnie, the sun rose and set with his Emma.
One of his favorite jokes about marriage was that he had been married 34 years, and he was happily married for only three of those years… but he would never say which three.
Before marriage and children, Ronnie was active with Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and was a true and constant presence in the life of his “little brother” Shawn for 40 straight years. He was a father figure and best friend to him, too.
Born and raised in Jacksonville Beach, he graduated from Fletcher in 1970 and hardly left. The only thing he really hated was traffic, which was why he rarely traveled outside of Duval County. For him to leave town required coercion, guilt, and a team effort by everyone involved to get him to cross the state line. He considered having only flown once in his life as a badge of honor.
For over 20 years on evenings and weekends, Ronnie’s favorite hobby was umpiring softball and baseball, and was also head coach for countless teams in those sports. When umpiring “little” Ronnie in baseball, he called him out in a close call every single time because he “never wanted anyone to ever think he was biased.”
Ronnie was honest, he was fair, and was beloved by many. The most frequent question he received was “What’s the recipe for your peanut butter pie?” for which he was famous for making at the Rite Spot. For those who are wondering, here’s the recipe one last time:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
Total: 90 mins (Prep: 15 mins, inactive 1 hour, cook: 10 mins)
Crust: 25 Oreos and 4 tablespoons butter, or store-bought chocolate crumb crust
Filling: 1 cup creamy peanut butter, 8 oz. softened cream cheese, 1.5 cups powdered sugar, 8 oz. Cool Whip
Directions: beat the peanut butter with cream cheese until smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add thawed Cool Whip and beat until smooth.
Pour filling into crust, even out with spatula. Chill for at least 10 minutes before serving. The longer chilled the better.
Ronnie is preceded in death by his father, Leon “Junior” Beasley, and his graceful mother Geraldine “Miss Gerry” who passed only three days before her son on August 12. In addition to Donna and son Ronnie, he is also survived by his brother Gerald and twin daughters who live in the Jacksonville area.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.11.3