Ronald Homer Willocks

Ron was born in Maryville, Tennessee on February 15, 1940. He was a graduate of Seacrest High School in Delray Beach Florida and attended Drake College, studying accounting, and joined the Air Force soon after. Ron was a Corpsman in the Air-Force and was stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base and then Torrejon Air Base in Madrid, Spain. After being honorably discharged Ron started his Photography business in Boca Raton, Florida.

Ron was a lifelong bird photographer and naturalist. His work has been featured in many Audubon Field Guides, reference books and magazines on birds globally. His work has been featured in National Geographic, Defenders Magazine - The Magazine of Defenders of Wildlife and Encyclopedia of Britannica among others. His first and only book, “Birds Through the Lens of Ron Willocks” was published to critical acclaim in 1975. He was a former President of the Audubon Society in Boca Raton, Florida. He founded the Save the Kite Committee to bring back the Everglade Kite from extinction for which is he honored by an appointment as a Kentucky Colonel. In the late 70’s along with his wife Lee, they also raised orphan raccoons, coyotes and skunks for reintroduction into the wild.

Another love of Ron’s was aviation and making model airplanes. When doing research for a book on the A4 Skyhawk, he flew with a Navy squadron out of Naval Air Station Chase Field in Beeville, Texas. As a photographer he flew with the Golden Knights. He is a former editor at Kitplanes Magazine and wrote articles of the same for Boys Life Magazine. He was a member of the local International Plastic Modelers Society, Rocky Mountain Chapter. One of Ron’s models is contained in the replica of the USS Enterprise built by his good friend Steve Henninger and is in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

Ron was an active member of the Central Presbyterian Church in Longmont. He was known for his sense of humor and his love of family and friends. He was always the first to offer help and could fix anything. He never met a stranger and could make friends and talk with anyone and everyone. Ron will be greatly missed by his family. His family will continue to search the US for the perfect Chile Relleno in his honor.

Ron was preceded in death by his parents, Glenn and Helen Willocks, his brother Nick Willocks and Nick’s wife, Mary Ann. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Lee Maxwell Willocks, his son Nick (Debby), daughter Sherri, son Matt and daughter Sarah (Mike) Hunsinger, granddaughters Kayla Patterson and her partner Tyler Packard, and Keira Foltz, great-grandchildren Keaton and Micah Foltz, brothers Curt (Maggie) Willocks and Steve Willocks, and numerous nieces and nephews.

There will be a Memorial Service honoring Ron, June 4, 2022 at 2 PM at Westview Presbyterian Church, 15th and Hover St in Longmont, CO. Memories and condolences may be shared at www.ahlbergfuneralchapel.com for the Willocks family.