Obituary of RONALD STEVE MALETIC

RONALD STEVE MALETIC (IN MEMORIAM)

On November 13, 2019 at Riverview Palliative Care, surrounded by his loving family, our beloved and cherished Husband, Dad & Papa passed away, after a lengthy illness. He was predeceased by his beloved daughter Michelle (McDonald) in 2007.  He is, and will always be terribly missed by his loving wife Penny, his daughter Tani (Dale Sawchuk), sons Garth (Lisa Bozek Maletic) and Brett (Jessica Reed) and his 7 grandchildren, Foster, Kiah & Griffin (Sawchuk), Sadie (Maletic) and Asher, Jacob & Noah (Maletic). Ron is survived by his siblings, “Luck” (Linda), Jim, Steve (Susan), Sharon (Jackie), Mike (Paula) and nephews and nieces in California.

Ron was born March 28th, 1943 in Indianapolis, Indiana. He eventually moved to California, where he met and married his beloved “Pen” and after the birth of Michelle, they moved to Wpg, where they raised their 4 children.

Ron’s children will always remember him as a kind and gentle father. To Penny, he was someone who gave her unconditional love and who made her want to be a better person. He was a man of few words, but his love for his family was never in doubt. Ron never expected anything from others, but he always gave the very best of himself.

We have so many fond memories: camping trips to Grand Beach and Rushing River in Nana and Papa’s pop-up trailer, trips to BC, eating burgers at Junior’s and just simply being together as a family. Over the years, Ron & Penny’s relationship grew stronger and as their children gradually left the nest, they found great pleasure in trying new adventures together. They joined a cycling club, took up Tai Chi and enjoyed volunteering at Siloam Mission & the Winnipeg Humane Society. They took many trips to Vancouver and Wisconsin to visit Garth & Brett’s families. Ron found great comfort and joy in his precious little dog “Teddy”. He gave Mom and Dad so much comfort and joy for the 15 years that he was with them. Throughout Ron’s illness, Teddy was most content when he was close to his best friend and the feeling was definitely mutual.

He worked as an accountant, a buyer, in Human Resources and eventually attended Herzing at age 52. After literally working 24/7 at 3 jobs simultaneously, he eventually found a full-time job he truly loved at the Victoria Hospital working as a porter. It was here that he was affectionately nicknamed “Rocket Ron” because of his dedication to his job, his co-workers and the patients. Ron was loved for his kindness, deep compassion for others and for his kind and gentle manner.

Ron’s passion for the “Vic” especially shined though when it came to selling Grey Cup tickets in support of the hospital charity. He adored selling those tickets and would usually sell more than everyone else combined! He sold them to friends, family, extended friends and their families, but he seemed to get the most joy from selling them to complete strangers! We will fondly remember watching Papa during Grey Cup parties as he tracked the scores using pages and pages of photocopied tickets he had made for himself, to ensure that he knew the moment one of his “customers” won a prize.

Ron had a passion for the Jets, the Blue Bombers and for baseball. He loved Roy Orbison, “Unchained Melody” by the Righteous Brothers and he also enjoyed listening to Classical and Opera music. He had a quiet sense of humour, but he could often be seen doubled-over in laughter while watching Archie Bunker, Rodney Dangerfield, John Candy or one of the many Airplane movies.

We will always love you, Dad. You were such a good father. We are the people that we are because of the amazing examples of kindness, honesty and hard-work that you have given to us throughout our lives. You were a strong, quiet and loving man and you will always fill a huge space in our hearts. Our lives will never be the same without you… May God be with you and make His face to shine upon you.

We thank the Palliative Home Care Team and the staff at 3E Riverview Health Centre for their compassionate and attentive care to Ron and our family at this very difficult time.

Funeral service will be held at Cropo Funeral Chapel, 1442 Main St., on Friday, Nov. 22^nd at 10:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Siloam Mission or Juvenile Diabetes.