John Francis Ronan's Obituary
Ronan, John Francis, aged 62, passed away on Monday, May 6, 2024 in Gainesville, Florida. John was born in Boston, Massachusetts on March 30, 1962 to Francis Daniel Ronan and Mary Immaculata Cleary Ronan.
After spending time in Seattle at the graphic novels/comics publisher Fantagraphics, working as a writer and editor for the Comics Journal, John was recruited to Gainesville to pursue an English degree. He was instrumental in developing the ground breaking UF Conference on Comics, a first in the academic arena and a founding editor of the pioneering online journal ImageText. In addition, his expertise in this area led him to be invited to teach a course on the history of graphic novels and comics at SAW, the Sequential Artists Workshop, a renowned school for writers and artists of this genre.
John was a graduate of the University of Florida, earning a Masters degree in English Literature. He earned a baccalaureate degree in journalism at University of California, Irvine.
He is survived by his loving wife, Jana Smith Ronan; children, Elizabeth Marie Ronan, Daniel Thomas Ronan; and siblings, Mary Ronan, Kathy SooHoo, Anne Ronan, Joan Ronan, Margaret Stack, Sarah Rasmussen, Frank Ronan and Robert Ronan. He was preceded in death by his parents Francis and Mary Ronan.
He had a wild soul and a big heart. He will be missed.
A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. For those who wish, donations may be made to SAW: https://www.sequentialartistsworkshop.org/donate.
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