On Friday, January 21, 2022, Ronald Rains unexpectedly died due to heart failure at the age of 79.
Ronald John 'Ron' Rains was born July 6, 1942, in Taft, CA. He briefly
lived in Texas, then at age 4 moved to the place he called home, North
Platte, NE. Ron was adopted and raised by his grandmother, Betty, and
her husband Joe Smith.
As a young boy, Ron always loved the farm, especially his chickens. He
was a hard worker on the farm and kept that strong work ethic throughout his life. He also worked at the family bowling alley and enjoyed fixing anything that needed fixing. Throughout his life, Ron was a jack of all trades and could always be counted on to repair what was broken, often using "spare parts" he had laying around the house.
Ron met his wife, Cheryl Hiltabidel, in high school and they were
married on June 23, 1963. He worked for Western Electric until being
drafted by the U.S. Marines in 1966 and sent to Vietnam.
Ron proudly served as a U.S. Marine in Vietnam until 1968, then served in
the reserves for two years after that. While in Vietnam, Ron was a
member of 2nd Battalion, 26th Marines, Hotel Company. He was an
infantry squad leader, and completed 17 operations in 13 months. The
26th Marine Hotel Company service years 1966-1970 have a reunion every 2 years, and Ron loved going to see his Marine brothers. Once a Marine, always a Marine. Semper Fi!
After returning home from Vietnam, he went back to work at Western
Electric. In 1969, Ron and Cheryl had their first daughter, Angela, and
in 1972 their second daughter, Stephanie, was born. Ron continued
working for Western Electric until 1983 when he was transferred to
Colorado to work for Mountain Bell Telephone. He worked for various
telecommunications companies, even after his first retirement from US
West, and recently announced he was planning to retire for good.
Ron was always ornery and truly a kid at heart, which was apt
considering he was always a kid magnet. All kids loved him and were
drawn to him. He teased everyone and was very playful with little kids
and adult kids just the same. He had the same magnetic effect on
animals. He was an animal whisperer and there was never a pet - dog,
cat, bird, rabbit, chicken...that didn't love him.
Ron was a beloved Husband, Father, Papa, Great Papa, Uncle, Brother and Friend. He is loved, missed and remembered by all who were fortunate enough to know him.
He is survived by his wife, Cheryl Rains; daughters, Angela (Lorr)
Quinn, Stephanie (Ryan) Ross, and Grace (Shawn) Helgeson; grandchildren, Ashley (Austin) Velasquez, Andrew Ross, Alexander Ross, Conor Quinn, Christina Helgeson and Steven Helgeson; great-grandson, Bradley Velasquez; his siblings, Bonnie Jo Leonhardt and George 'Bill' Smith; and numerous loved cousins, nieces, and nephews.
Ron was preceded in death by his parents, Betty and Joe Smith; siblings,
Art Searcy, Ray Smith, Dayton Smith, LeRoy Smith and Scott Smith; and
his granddaughter, Kenna Quinn.
A memorial service for Ron will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday,
January 29, 2022, at St. John's Lutheran Church,11040 Colorado Blvd,
Thornton, CO. For those unable to attend, the service will be live
streamed from the church website at https://www.stjohnsthornton.org/
(click on Watch Live Here link)
Burial with military honors will be 10 a.m. on Monday, January 31, at
Fort McPherson National Cemetery at Maxwell, NE. A reception will follow at First Evangelical Lutheran Church at 11:00 am.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Thompson FFA Kenna Fund
(via Angela), Riverdale Animal Shelter in Thornton or a charity of your
choice. Online condolences may be shared at odeanchapel.com. Odean
Colonial Chapel at C & Sycamore is in charge of local arrangements.