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Ssgt. Ronald "Ron" Jerome Bessner

Round Rock, TX, USA

September 30, 1936 - May 30, 2021

Sep 30, 1936 - May 30, 2021

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Ronald Jerome Bessner was born on September 30, 1936, to Herman and Jeannette Bessner of Lake Linden, Michigan. "Ronnie," whose namesakes were Ronald Coleman, the actor, and St. Jerome, patron saint of librarians, spent his childhood in Lake Linden, in a small house on G Street, with his parents, five brothers (Harold, Raymond, Kenneth, Robert and Francis) and three sisters (Barbara, Beverly, and Sharon). Ronald attended church and school at Saint Joseph catholic church. Ronald never enjoyed the bitterly cold Upper Peninsula winters and dreamed of warmer climes.

At 15, Ronald misrepresented his age to enlist in the Michigan National Guard, serving one year. Ronald loved the military and always intended to make it his career. At 16, Ronald convinced his parents to sign a waiver that would allow him to enlist in the United States Navy. On the day the recruiter came to the Bessner house to complete the enlistment paperwork, Ronald's mother had a change of heart; she could not in good conscience allow her son to join the military at such a young age. Disappointed, yet committed, Ronald swore that he would enlist at the earliest opportunity. True to his word, on his 18th birthday, Ronald left home and hitchhiked to Duluth, Minnesota, where he intended--again--to enlist in the navy. The navy recruitment office was unfortunately closed, so Ronald went next door, to the air force recruiter. Never afraid to make a snap decision, Ronald enlisted in the United States Air Force, and for the next two decades, travelled the world, serving at bases throughout the United States and the world. His least favorite tour of duty was in the northern Canadian province of Labrador, where he said the showers were always cold, there was neither booze nor women, and teeming mosquitoes so blood-thirsty they could render a man unconscious. Ronald enjoyed his billet in Germany. His barracks in Neu Elm was the starting point of journeys to numerous other countries, where Ronald became intimately familiar with the peoples and cultures of Europe. But Ronald had an especial fondness for the Orient, serving in Okinawa, Japan, Vietnam, and the People's Republic of China (Taiwan). Ronald volunteered for duty in Vietnam, and served from1967 to 1968, at the height of the conflict there. He always modestly claimed that he was never in any "real danger," but he did come under enemy fire on one occasion. One of Ronald's favorite postings was in Taiwan, where he met and married his first wife, Lisa Lin. That marriage produced two sons, Michael and Mark. In 1975, with orders to report to Turkey without dependents, Ronald chose family over the military; after more than 20 years of service and having attained the rank of Technical Sergeant, Ronald reluctantly retired from the U.S. Air Force.

Ronald moved his family to Austin, Texas, a city he had fallen in love with years earlier, and whose winters were laughably mild compared to those of his childhood. In 1978, Ronald divorced but retained custody of his two young boys. Ronald tried his hand at several professions before finding work as a warehouse supervisor at Texas Instruments. In 1980, Ronald began dating Debbie Chang. Ronald often referred to their relationship as "the greatest thing to ever happen to me." Ronald and Debbie married in 1982 and moved a few miles north to the then-sleepy suburb of Round Rock, Texas. Ronald and Debbie's marriage produced Kimberly, the baby of the family. In 1994, Ronald retired from Texas Instruments after 17 years of service. Ronald worked for several more years, first at Wayne Dresser Industries, and then at Walmart, before fully retiring in 1999.

In his retirement, Ronald enjoyed reading (he was a devoted library patron and voracious consumer of books), listening to music (he was fondest of jazz, the dominant genre of his adolescence, and had a large collection of LPs), and spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren.

Ronald passed away on May 30, at the age of 84, holding the hand of his son, Michael. Ronald is survived by his devoted wife of 38 years, Debbie Bessner; sons, Michael Bessner (Toni) and Mark Bessner (Sarah Sutherland); daughter, Kimberly Quaranta (Steven); stepdaughter, Saundra Finley (Doyle); stepson, Don Robertson, Jr. (Brandy); and grandchildren, Ruben Mercado, Matthew Finley, Mackenzie Bessner, Brodie Bessner, Braxton Quaranta, Asher Quaranta, and Samantha Bessner. Ronald was predeceased by his parents, Herman and Jeanette Bessner; and brothers, Harold, Raymond, Kenneth, and Robert.

"When my old man grinned, nobody could help but grin too." -- Ernest Hemingway, "My Old Man"

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