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FROM RON'S MEMORIAL SERVICE: Ron was born in New Orleans. When he was less than a year old, he moved with his mother Dorothea from New Orleans to Pittsburgh, and then a few years later they relocated to Washington D.C. at the beginning of WWII. As a very young child, Ron did something no one usually does-he picked out his own father, introducing William Blocher to his mother at Height nursery school in Rockville, Maryland. William and Dorothea married in 1946 and moved to Bethesda, MD with Ron and his new brothers, William and Robert. In the late 1940s, the family grew with the birth of Alice and Roy. Ron attended Bethesda Chevy Chase High School. One of the highlights of this past year was attending the 1961 Reunion where he talked cars with his like-minded classmates. Ron also served in the Air Force as a crew chief on a B-52 and attended Montgomery College and American University on the GI Bill. He married the love of his life Jane O'Donnell in 1965 and they had one beautiful daughter, Victoria, in 1967. Ron had many talents: he made the best grilled cheese around, his dancing skills were unparalleled, and his humor would put most comedians to shame; but his most pronounced talent was his ability to build or fix anything, reflected in his occupation as a customer engineer at IBM and a service manager at NYNEX Corporation. His family and friends benefitted greatly from this talent, particularly his daughter, who was often on hand to provide tools and expected to learn to use them. Ron loved his family, his daughter, his son-in-law, his wife, but especially his grandchildren. He taught his family to open themselves up to others so that they could see the beauty in them, always with compassion and always without judgment. His saying from William Butler Yeats was that "There are no strangers here; just friends you have not met yet." He had a way of making others feel comfortable and bringing out the best in them. He treated everyone he met as though they were the most fascinating person in the world - and he meant it. There was no one who met Ron who didn't love him. His charm made men admire him and women adore him. Ron was also a life-long learner: intellectually curious, with a life-long interest in history, particularly anything related to WWII. He was an avid hobbyist occupying his time refurbishing cars, collecting model trains, and later building scale models, particularly of the tall ships. To the joy of his siblings growing up, Ron was also a consummate comedian, able to mimic every accent in the world. He also inherited his Mother's artistic talent, delighting his daughter and her friends with elaborately and exquisitely carved jack-o-lanterns every Halloween. Although Ron was diagnosed with ALS in 2012, he never let his illness define his happiness. He handled his disease with such grace and dignity that he was a model for all those around him. He fought hard to stay himself, staying true to his belief that he should always look his best. Every day he was impeccably dressed and groomed ready to hold court with his family and many friends. Always a compassionate man, even as he was experiencing his own physical losses, Ron acted as an advocate for others, being sure that everyone was treated with the dignity they deserved. The best gift of Ron's lifetime can be summarized as such: "People will forget what you said. They will forget what you did. But they will never forget how you made them feel." He gave much love, and received much love in return.
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