Ronald Wade Hampton

Ronald Wade Hampton of Greensboro, North Carolina, passed away at his home on April 11, 2025, after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. The past nine months were difficult for Ron, but always the eternal optimist, he never gave up hope and fought until the end to spend as much time as possible with his loved ones.

A funeral service to celebrate his life will be at 11 AM, Thursday, April 17, 2025 at First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro. Interment at Lakeview Memorial Park will be private.

Ron was born to Jim and Marion Hampton on September 8, 1954, in Arlington, Virgina. His family, which would grow to include his sister Peggy, resided in Endicott and Poughkeepsie, New York, before settling in Cary, North Carolina in 1965. After graduating from Cary High School, Ron attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where one could argue he found his two great loves: his wife Becky and Carolina sports.

Ron moved to Greensboro after college, taking his first job as a management trainee with Montgomery Ward. He would later move to Southern Bell for a marketing job that eventually led to a life-long career in telecommunications. He held various positions at Wrangler, Time Warner Telecom and USAir, the latter of which gave him and his family the opportunity to travel abroad on more than one occasion, instilling a life-long love of travel that would one day take him to far off places, including Thailand and Prague.

In 1999, he took a job at AT&T where he would work until he retired in 2015. His last five years at AT&T were spent in service management, a job he enjoyed more than any other time in his career.

Ron was a man of many passions, but one of his favorites was coaching youth basketball. He first got involved with the sport at the Lewis Center in Greensboro in 1980, where he would go onto lead teams for 18 years, once winning the All-Star Team City Championship. When his oldest daughter took an interest in basketball, Ron recognized there was a shortage of competitive opportunities for girls in the city of Greensboro. Ever the doer, he set out to create an AAU organization – the Greensboro Galaxy, which under his watch grew from five teams to 11 in just two years. Ron worked with the organization for four years, coaching some players who would eventually join Division One teams. He later coached school-affiliated teams, first at Aycock Middle School, leading the Lions to their first winning season, and eventually as part of the Page High School’s basketball program. In his own words, the joy of coaching was grounded in the relationships he developed with players and their families. Ron loved watching them become not just better basketball players, but also well-rounded people. Nothing thrilled him more than to hear someone call out “Hey, Coach!” and for him to turn around and see a former player.

Church also played an important role in Ron’s life. In the mid-1980s, he joined First Presbyterian of Greensboro, where his involvement spanned everything from teaching a kindergarten Sunday school class to serving two terms as an elder. He loved participating in outreach opportunities with the church, including Appalachian Service Project, Hot Dish and Hope, and Step Up, which helped young men and women who were struggling to find a way back on their feet. A talented musician - who on occasion would sit down at the piano and effortlessly crank out crowd favorites - he deeply enjoyed participating in both the Chancel Choir and Rejoice Band at church.

Ron never met a stranger, and the wealth of wonderful people that surrounded him during his final months is a testament to that. He cherished the life-long friendships he made throughout his career, members of his Bridge Club, and other couples he spent time with in recent years attending plays and sporting events. Nothing made him happier than hours long conversations with his cadre of amateur Carolina sports commentators. He felt particularly blessed by his Mystery Club friends, which for two decades carved out time from their busy schedules to spend meaningful time together. Those relationships have had an enduring impact on future generations, creating a de facto set of cousins who will forever remember Christmas parties at the Hampton’s, ski trips, and beach weekends, where Ron led treasure hunts and took on the prominent role of “Chef Shish.”

Ron’s greatest passion and joy, however, was marrying his wife Becky and building a wonderful family together. He could not have asked for a better life partner and best friend. He treasured their many road trips, from Colorado to Houston to Maine, which for the last decade have always included their dog, Chloe, as a companion. He’s proud to have two daughters who he says grew to be “successful and outstanding young women, wonderful mothers, good wives and both married incredibly wonderful sons-in-law.”

In the last seven years, he drew endless joy from his six grandchildren, Eloise, Dorothy, Charlie, Gretel, Hampton and Daisy. They will remember doing puzzles and “Fly, baby!” with their Pops, watching movies together, making cookies, and always having a good time. He says his greatest regret is not to be able to watch them grow up. Even so, he’s touched their lives in such a meaningful way and will always be a part of them.

Ron had a special relationship with his younger sister, Peggy. Throughout their adult lives, Ron and Peggy were neighbors, eventually building houses side-by-side in Greensboro, where they raised their children more as siblings than cousins. Their families built a house together in the Carolina mountains, which became a special place for family gatherings. He also drew great inspiration from his mother-in-law, Nancy Young, for her generous acceptance of people and ability to see the positive side of everything.

It's hard to put to words how much Ron will be missed. He was such a presence – a person of wonderful passion, openness and love. Everyone has a great Ron story, whether it’s about him stealing French fries off a stranger’s plate or painfully watching him try to assist Roy Williams arrange his beach towel on a chair in Hawaii. Our lives are so much better because of how he lived his. His time here was too short, but he lived it to the fullest and filled it with love.

Ron was preceded in death by his parents, Jim and Marion Hampton, and his in-laws, Elmer and Nancy Young. He is survived by his wife Becky, and daughters Elizabeth Leisinger (Jason) and Caroline Cox (Michael), as well as his six grandchildren, Eloise, Dorothy, Gretel and Daisy Leisinger, and Charlie and Hampton Cox. He is also survived by his sister Peggy Hudson (Rick) and former brother-in-law, Jim Bagwell, and their two sons, Tyler and Austin Bagwell.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network or Hot Dish and Hope at First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro.