4/12/1927 - 2/5/2019
Stuart G. Ronald, age 91, of Portland passed away Tuesday morning, Feb.
5, 2019, in Persimmon Ridge Healthcare.
He was born April 12, 1927,
in Portland the youngest of eight children born to the Rev. Hugh N. and Kate
(Bair) Ronald. At age 12, he moved to North Manchester. He graduated high
school in 1944, valedictorian of his class.
He served in the U.S.
Navy from April 1944 to fall of 1945. He attended Wooster College for one
year and graduated in 1949 from Earlham College in Richmond. He spent three
years in Iran teaching English to high school students. He took odd jobs in
Fort Wayne until moving to Portland in May 1954 to be editor of Graphic
weekly newspaper.
He was married Sept. 14, 1955, to Martha Sue
Whiteman, who survives. He was a lifelong member of First Presbyterian
Church, Portland where his father was minister from 1921 to 1939. He sang in
choir, served as deacon, trustee and elder, and taught Sunday School class.
He started working for Lyons Construction Company in March 1958 and
became manager of C&C Lumber Company until he retired and sold the land at
the corner of Ship and Arch streets in Portland to Jay County Library.
He was past president of Portland Lions Club, 1968-69. He was the first
recipient of Jack Cole Award for Volunteerism and treasurer of Jay-Randolph
Developmental Service, Portland. He sang with a quartet — The Tranquilizers,
along with Glen Priest, John Young and Jim Whittington — that later became
The Married Folks (Priests, Youngs, Whittingtons, Runkles, Eggerts and
Ronalds).
He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Martha Sue;
children Evelyn Mong (husband: Joe), Elizabeth “Buffy” Inman and Carl Ronald
(Julie Swoveland), all of Portland, and Dale Ronald (wife: Deb) of
Waynesville, Ohio; sister Mary Ellen Clark of Fan Mountain, Virginia;
several nieces and nephews, including Susan Johnsonbaugh of Grosse Pointe
Farms, Michigan; eight grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; and two
great-great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at a later
date.
Memorials can be made to the First Presbyterian Church in
Portland.
Baird-Freeman Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Condolences may be expressed at bairdfreeman.com.
Commercial Review, Portland, Indiana; Wednesday, February 6, 2019 11:24 AM
*****
Stuart G. Ronald
April 12, 1927 -
Feb. 5, 2019
Stuart G. Ronald, Portland, April 12, 1927 - Feb. 5,
2019. Services will be at 11 a.m. Feb. 23 at First Presbyterian Church in
Portland.
Commercial Review, Portland, Indiana; Tuesday, February 12,
2019 11:36 AM
Contributed by Elaine Mihm Geyer