On August 6, 2013, Ronald F. Weaver of Santa Barbara, California, passed away peacefully to go home to be with his Lord and Savior. He courageously fought a long battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s diease). He died at home surrounded by his loved ones.
Ron was born in Elkhart, Indiana, on March 21, 1938, to Elthea and Tillman Weaver. He graduated from Elkhart High School and attended Purdue University where he received his BS in Industrial Management. He went on to receive his Master’s in Business Management at Butler University. While attending Purdue, he met and married Mary Alice Ticen on September 7, 1957; they were married 55 years.
Ron joined General Motors in 1961 at Delco Corporation in Kokomo, Indiana, and was then transferred to GM’s corporate office in Detroit, Michigan. In 1985, Ron and Mary moved to Santa Barbara from Michigan to fill the position of human resources manager for Delco Systems Operations in Goleta.
Ron loved the Lord and his church (Calvary Baptist Church of Santa Barbara), where he was a deacon until his diagnosis of ALS. He had a zest for life that included speed. His many hobbies included racing cars, riding motorcycles and flying his plane. He loved being outdoors in sunny Santa Barbara and on any given day (after retirement in 1991), he could be found tooling around town on his bicycle, visiting the library, Rusty’s Pizza Parlor or the local beaches.
Ron is survived by his loving and dedicated wife, Mary A. Weaver, who was his primary caregiver through the difficult ALS journey, and son Jeffrey S. Weaver of Cave Junction, Oregon (spouse Connie, grandchildren David, Amy and Michael Weaver), and daughter, Susan A. Weaver, of Northville, Michigan.
A private viewing and graveside funeral for the family will be held the morning of Monday, August 12, followed by a memorial celebration at 2 p.m. at Calvary Baptist Church, 736 W. Islay St. in Santa Barbara. In honor of Ron’s memory, donations may be made to ALS Association or Hospice of Santa Barbara.
Arrangements are by Welch-Ryce-Haider Funeral Chapels.