Born in Winston Salem, NC, the sixth child of Evelyn Cook Pearson, Ronald A. Pearson lived a full life and completed his earthly journey on September 21, 2022. His story began on December 23, 1950, when he and his twin, Donald, were born. The eldest twin, Donald, was born at 8:35am while Ronald emerged more than three hours later at 12:30pm. The doctor delivered this handsome pair at the family home in the middle of a blizzard. The beauty and unexpected candor of this twin connection remained important to Ronald for the duration of his life.

Ronald attended Carver Crest Elementary School where his team sport career began and continued through junior high school. He and Donald matriculated to and graduated from Richard J. Reynolds High School. Here, the twin’s antics continued. Apparently, at birth, they were not given middle names. The two decided in high school to give themselves middle names. Ronald’s middle name became ‘Antonio’ and Donald chose ‘Antoin’. Officially, the twins called themselves ‘RAP’ and ‘DAP’ after they made the name changes.

After graduation, Ronald enlisted in the Army. He proudly served his tour of duty in Vietnam and returned home. He immediately moved to New York and married the lady whom he deemed the love of his life, Joyce C. Lee. Their union on July 20, 1973, yielded two beautiful children, Damien Jamel (1975) and Sharrón Latrice (1978). The family resided in Queens, New York.

Ronald started building his work life legacy at New York Bank for Savings. He planted roots at the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority where his career spanned over 30 years. He was constantly seeking a challenge and held positions ranging from station booth representative to brake technician to conductor to train operator. He was highly respected in his community.

One of the most memorable things about Ronald was his sense of humor. He and twin Donald constantly played tricks on others as part of their fun. When they were little, if their grandmother attempted to spank one of them, the other one would cry. This action would be repeated until their grandmother finally gave in to the confusion and didn’t spank either of them. This love of laughter continued throughout his life…and no one was safe! Ronald and Donald would even go so far as to trick their own mother and Ronald’s wife Joyce on phone calls because their voices were practically the same!

Ronald LOVED to paint. He spent many years taking on paint jobs for friends and family. He had no problem climbing up and down ladders to pursue this passion, even while complaining about knee and back pain the entire time. The love of painting continued later in life when he took up painting canvas art pieces, some of which are displayed in the home he shared with Joyce. His love of music, sports, and the beach are all traits he passed down to his children; his album collection was legendary. Ronald also loved to drive and would often map out the longer route on a road trip. He would say it was so he could avoid traffic, but it was mostly so he could drive at speeds that would have most people in the passenger seat holding on for dear life! He loved NASCAR and it always seemed he was living out his fantasy of driving in a race. He may, or may not, have also passed that trait on to his children…:-)

Ronald A. Pearson is survived by his loving wife, Joyce, son Damien, daughter Sharrón (Jason), and granddaughter Zoë. His brothers Karim Bilal, Donald Pearson, and Reginald Pearson and his 4 sisters Geneva Dixon, Carolyn Pearson, Marilyn Boyd and Belinda Robinson, mourn his loss, as well as a host of nieces, nephews and cousins. He is preceded in death by his mother Evelyn and brothers John Henry Pearson and Edward Pearson. His legacy continues in the hearts of those who remain.

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