Ron’s childhood was spent in northern Idaho with some of his teen years in southern California and Washington. He enlisted in the Air Force in 1956 at the age of 17. He was honorably discharged in 1960. While in the Air Force he played on the Air Force tennis team and flew all over the States in the back of cargo planes to get to his tennis tournaments. He was also on the Air Force Pistol team. Most of his stay in the service was at the Condon, Oregon, radar base where he was a draftsman. He was proud to report that while serving on the radar base no Russian bombers made it through their radar defense and America was safe for the years that he was there. Post-Air Force, he worked in the alarm industry in southern California and in the Bay Area. In the spring of 1979, he moved his family to Prattville. In 1980, he got a job at the Collins Pine sawmill. Later in 1980, he started his own alarm company. He went full time with his alarm company from 1985 until his retirement in December 2016. He had a busy retirement working around the house and chasing the grandchildren in all their varied activities.
His favorite pastimes were cooking large breakfasts, hunting, fishing, dirt biking, geocaching and serving in his local church. Most of his fishing was done with his sons on Butt Creek. His other fishing spots were Yellow and Soda creeks with his close friend Tony. His hunting was mostly done locally from Ohio Valley to Mud Creek Rim overlooking Chester, with many favorite secret places in between. He also spent many years traveling to Wyoming on elk hunts with his family buddy, Evan. He never brought home much meat but he had a ball with Evan in Wyoming. One summer he ran a small fishing camp up in Alaska where one of his clients was the famous Miami Dolphin, Larry Csonka. If you had the chance to go outdoors with Ron you found out quick that you needed to suffer and sacrifice while fishing or hunting or you were not be doing it right. You never sat while fishing or came back dry. Prime fishing was while you stood in the snow. Hunting was the same. Hunting tree blinds that would put your legs to sleep and you went into the hunting area by flashlight and left by flashlight. No sitting while dirt biking or racing.
He married his wife, Jean on June 22nd, 1962, and they celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary just the other day.
Ron was 82 at his passing and stated to his family a few times he never thought he would live this long. He had a great run. When he did something, he was all in and would take anything to the bitter end. His memory faded pretty fast at the end and to get him talking and visiting at the last you had to go back in his memories 40 to 50 years to catch a spark from the past and fan it into a grand story where he would say repeatedly, “Those were the good ol’ days!”
He loved to shoot the bull and loved hearing others speak of their exploits. You did not need to know Ron long to know him well and he will be missed by all.
We say goodbye to Ron in the flesh but we race on, run on, work hard, love much and appreciate the day as we have his memories and stories still with us. To those examples, experiences, memories and stories we will never say goodbye to, but will be able say, “These are the good ol’ days.”
Thanks to all that knew him. You were all part of his long life.
Sincerely,
The Martin Family
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