Ronald John Rains

Ronald “Ron” John Rains was born July 6th, 1942, in Taft, California. He briefly lived in Texas and then at age 4 moved to the place he called home, North Platte, Nebraska. Ron was adopted and raised by his grandmother, Betty, and her husband Joe Smith.

As a young boy, Ron always loved the farm, especially his chickens. He was a hard worker on the farm and kept that strong work ethic throughout his life. Ron also worked at the family bowling alley and enjoyed fixing anything that needed fixing. Throughout his life, he was a jack of all trades and could always be counted on to repair what was broken - often using “spare parts” he had laying around the house.

He met his wife, Cheryl, in high school and they were married on June 23rd, 1963. Ron worked for Western Electric until he was drafted by the Marines and sent to Vietnam in 1966. He served proudly as a US Marine in Vietnam until 1968 and the reserves for 2 years after that. While in Vietnam, he was a member of 2nd Battalion, 26th Marines, Hotel Company. He was an infantry squad leader, and he completed 17 operations in 13 months. The 26th Marine Hotel Company service years 1966-1970 have a reunion every 2 years, and Ron loved going to see his Marine brothers. Once a Marine, always a Marine. Semper Fi!

After returning home from VN, he went back to work at Western Electric. In 1969, Ron and Cheryl had their first daughter, Angela and in 1972, their second daughter, Stephanie was born. Ron continued working for Western Electric until 1983 when he was transferred to Colorado to work for Mountain Bell Telephone. He continued to work for various telecommunications companies, even after his first retirement from USWest. He recently announced he was planning to retire for good.

Ron was always ornery and truly a kid at heart, which was apt considering he was always a kid magnet. All kids loved him and were drawn to him. He teased everyone and was very playful with little kids and adult kids just the same. He had the same magnetic effect on animals. He was an animal whisperer and there was never a pet that didn’t love him - dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, chickens...

Ron was a beloved Husband, Father, Papa, Great Papa, Uncle, Brother, and Friend. He is loved, missed, and remembered by all who were fortunate enough to know him. He was preceded in death by his parents Betty and Joe Smith, his siblings Art Searcy, Ray Smith, Dayton Smith, LeRoy Smith, Scott Smith, and his granddaughter Kenna Quinn. He is survived by his wife, Cheryl (Hiltabidel) Rains; his daughters Angela (Lorr) Quinn, Stephanie (Ryan) Ross, and Grace (Shawn) Helgeson; his grandchildren Ashley (Austin) Velasquez, Andrew Ross, Alexander Ross, Conor Quinn, Christina Helgeson, and Steven Helgeson; his great grandson Bradley Velasquez; his siblings Bonnie Jo Leonhardt and George “Bill” Smith, and numerous loved cousins, nieces, and nephews.

A memorial service for Ron will be held at 10:30am on Saturday, January 29th, at St. John’s Lutheran Church at 11040 Colorado Blvd. in Thornton, CO.