Ronald was born January 6, 1944 in Missouri. Growing up in Blue Island, IL, he excelled in academics, chorus, and particularly sports, where he featured as a star player on his high school basketball team.
After a short time in college at University of Illinois, Ronald enlisted in the United States Navy and served during the Vietnam War, deploying out of Little Creek Naval Base in Norfolk, Virginia.
Ronald was married in 1969 to Theodora Boyd, a pianist and writer also from Blue Island, IL. Upon Ronald's discharge from the Navy, he and his wife Teddy moved back to Illinois, and three years later (1972) they had a daughter, Elizabeth. In 1974, the family moved to Buffalo Grove, Illinois, where Ronald would live out the majority of his adult life. Ronald worked as a floor electrician at Chicago's Proctor & Gamble plant where he enjoyed his work and made many good friends. After the closing of the plant, he worked briefly at General Electric in Chicago, and then eventually found a position at Nabisco where he worked until retirement.
In December of 2017, after a hospital and rehab stay, he moved to an Assisted Living Facility in Bowie, Maryland, near his daughter and her family. A year later, he was joined at the facility by his wife, Theodora, and they were able to live the final year of his life together.
Ronald was a lifelong sports fan and avid watcher of football, basketball, and golf. He loved playing golf with friends and was quite adept at winning various types of coolers in local tournaments. Ronald was a word-lover and trivia master, and he very much enjoyed crossword puzzles and word games.
Ronald was a well-loved son, husband, father, brother, uncle, dog owner, and friend. He is survived by his wife Theodora, daughter Elizabeth, son-in-law Peter, grandchild Evan, brother Ford, sister Norma, and a loving group of extended family.
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