Ronald D. Joos Sr.'s Obituary
Ronald D. Joos, Sr., 72, of Gainesville, passed away at his home on April 9th, surrounded by his family and friends, after a very quick and unexpected battle with cancer.
He was born January 31, 1945 in Peoria IL to Marjorie Teresa Roger and Richard William Joos. He moved with his parents to Ocala FL in 1953. He was a 1963 graduate of Ocala High School, where he was involved in Student Government (elected Class President in 10th grade) and graduated third in his class of 305 students. During this time he also served as President of Rotary Interact Club, was selected to represent Marion County at Boys State, placed third in the State Science Fair in 1960, and was named “Top Teenager” by the Ocala Star Banner in 1961 & 1963. He attended Belmont Abbey in Belmont NC for one year, then transferred to Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem NC, where he earned a B.S. in Psychology cum laude in 1967. He moved to Gainesville in 1967 to begin a Ph.D. in Social Psychology at the University of Florida; in 1974 he graduated from UF with a MBA from the Warrington College of Business. For over 30 years Ron spent his career at Rutenberg Homes, beginning in sales and working his way up to Executive Vice President. He retired as CFO/Controller in 2009, and concluded his career in 2010 as the Accounting Manager for Butler Enterprises.
An involved and engaged member of the Gainesville community, in the 1990s Ron was Treasurer of the Board & Volunteer of the Year (1996) for the North Central Florida AIDS Network, Board Member & Event Coordinator for P’nai Or Jewish Renewal Congregation, and volunteered with Citizens Co-op. Some of his life was shared in print: He was featured in Advocate Magazine in the 1980s, and in November 2003 he appeared on the front page of The Gainesville Sun, in an article titled, Many gay parents still feel the need to stay in the closet along with his daughter, Kristin. They also recorded a segment for StoryCorps in November 2008 that was featured on their local NPR station, WUFT, in March 2009 in a program entitled Stories from North Florida and remains on file in the Library of Congress.
Ron was a foodie, coffee-aficionado, and unabashed Francophile who traveled to Paris four times, where heaven was sitting at a café with coffee and a baguette. He was also a European history buff; for his son Ron's high school graduation, they flew to Germany, where they visited the Joos family homestead in Bad Wurtenberg and drove on the Autobahn.
Ron was a friendly & thoughtful neighbor, and a passionate advocate for human rights & social justice. He will be remembered for his warmth & wit. He was, above all, an outstanding father to his two children (and canine children), around whom his life revolved. Ron was an incredibly caring, thoughtful, generous, devoted, dependable, patient, humorous, and genuinely kind person. His children aim to live the rest of their days in a way that pays tribute to his memory, and hope those who knew him will be inspired in some way to share the lovingkindness he exemplified.
Ron Sr. is survived by his son, Ron Joos, Jr. (with his wife, Pia Simeoni; Pia’s daughter, Veronica Simeoni; and their rescue beagle, Marley), of Palm Harbor; his daughter, Kristin Elizabeth Joos, of Gainesville; and his rescue hound, Levi Joshua Napoleon Joos, now residing in Palm Harbor. He was preceded in death by his parents. On Tuesday, April 11th, Ron was interred at Forest Meadows, just above his parents.
A Memorial Celebration will be held on Friday, May 19th, from 1:00-2:00pm in the Spanish Court of the Historic Thomas Center, located at 302 NE 6th Avenue.
In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations to the Ron Joos Memorial Fund, from which they will donate to causes held near to their Dad's heart. To learn more and/or contribute, go to https://www.youcaring.com/ronjoosmemorialfund.
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