It's safe to say that Ronnie was not much of a conversationalist, but at our class' 25th reunion Fran and I got a lesson in just how much his membership in our class meant to him. That night, at a banquet room over off of Westheimer, I noticed Ronnie sitting by himself and went over and sat down and talked to him for a while. What I learned was that he was living out in the country up near Hempstead with his elderly father. He had walked several miles to the highway up there that morning and caught a Greyhound bus and taken it to downtown Houston, hung out there at the bus station most of the day, then taken a cab to the reunion. You can imagine what all of that cost. I asked him how he would get home and he said he would take a cab back to the bus station, spend the night there, then take a bus back to Hempstead on Sunday, and walk from the highway back to his house. Think about spending the night at Houston's downtown bus station, scary. Think about going through all of that to come and not one person speaking to you all night, even scarier.
At that point I went over and talked to Fran and she agreed that we would take Ronnie home. He agreed to let us and after the party was over we set out for Hempstead, with Ronnie in the back seat of my Suburban, and me drinking mucho coffee trying to sober up for the long drive.
When we got up there he of course was giving me directions, turn left here, turn right here, etc. We got off the county road onto a dirt road, then off the dirt road and down a little trail through tall Johnson grass for about a mile. I looked over at Fran one time and her eyes were the size of silver dollars. It was out in the middle of nowhere and totally dark. Finally we came to the mobile home where he lived with his father. It was totally dark too. We said goodnight and thanked him for coming and started our drive back to Houston. It was only a few years later that we heard that he had died.
I'll never forget Ronnie and how much it meant to him to be a part of our class, and how much trouble and expense he went through to come to our reunions.
I don't know much about Heaven yet, but I do know that Ronnie is there and that his angel wings are perfect just like everyone else's. Rest in peace Ronnie.
Reading all the "In Memory Classmates" today, is staggering, how many passed away before their time! This one brought tears to my eyes, as I had a brother that was different, or thought to be by others.
I appreciate and admire Ted and Fran's huge act of kindness in reaching out to a fellow classmate, Ronnie, and going the extra mile to get him safely home.
I remember him by glances in the hall, seemed very quiet and sensitive.
Oh my gosh, I am sitting here with tears running down my face after reading about Ronnie. He was so very quiet and we were so very young and immature at Waltrip. Teddy and Fran you were very kind and I am priviledged to know you.
