Ronald Anthony Usenza, 71, of Cape Coral, FL, passed away on July 9th, 2025 at Cape Coral Hospital from pneumonia and COPD. Ron was born on September 27th, 1953 in Seaford, New York to Salvatore Usenza (family from Palermo Sicily, Italy) and Sarah Elena Mauro (family from Naples, Italy). He graduated from General Douglas Macarthur High School. 

He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Lucretia Usenza. He leaves behind his wife, Grace Almeida; daughters Isabella Usenza and Christiana Athena-Blackwell; grandchildren Jules and Azalia; sister Allyson Cohan, and many nieces and nephews. 

His first daughter, Christiana Athena Usenza, was born in 1982  with his first wife, Georgia Goldsborough, in Sheffield, MA. His second daughter was born in 1998, Isabella Sararose Usenza, with Maura Gannon, in Schenectady, NY. He married his second wife, Grace Almeida, in February 2023 in Florida. 

Ron was often described as a “hippie” and a “motorhead.” His biggest passions were music, photography, and motorcycles. He inherited an angelic singing voice from his mother, Sally, who aspired to be an opera singer. His favorite band was The Beatles, and by age nine, he taught himself to play drum set by listening to their albums. His favorite singer was Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin. Recently, his favorite musician was Jack Johnson. His favorite memory is attending the Woodstock Festival in 1969. 

He considered going to college for photography, but life took him in another direction. At nineteen, he joined his father (who was a master upholsterer) on a project to design the interior of the late singer,Nat King Cole’s house in Western Massachusetts. After that experience, Ron decided to relocate to the Berkshires, where he managed the Shaker Mill Tavern in West Stockbridge, MA. He also managed a car dealership in his early twenties. His goal was to raise the money to buy equipment to become a DJ. He would DJ every Friday night to a full room and many other events and weddings in the Berkshires. Additionally, Ron played drum set in several bands, including Red, Hot, and Blue. I interviewed him once about music, and he described that he had the talent, passion, and creativity he needed to “be in the big leagues” but his shyness held him back: “I  have talents that I don’t want to share with the world due to my shyness…I’m not a show-off…I don’t want to be under the limelight…and that honestly sucks," he laughed.  He still continued to play music his whole life: “It’s almost like a religion for me, because I’m not sharing it with the world at all. I’m not in a band, but there’s a satisfaction I get out of it, but it’s purely personal.”

By his mid- twenties, he owned land and an apartment complex in Sheffield, MA, and lived there with his first pet, Moondog. He founded Berkshire Motor Works in MA. Later, he started a BMW motorcycle franchise in Albany, NY, of which he was the president for thirteen years. There he performed timbales in a Latin band called El Sabor Caribe with his friends from Puerto Rico. in 2016, Ron moved to Cape Coral, Florida to take care of his father, Sal. He worked in finance for motorcycle dealerships in the area, and recently as his COPD progressed, he found a living driving for Uber Eats, and DoorDash. He loved his pets and always had a parrot, fish, cats, and/or dogs at all times. 

Ron was adored for his unique sense of humor, easy-going nature, kindness, and musical talent. May joyful memories continue to sing softly in the hearts of all who knew him.

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