Ronald Van Dress' Obituary
Two words carved in stone on a kitchen archway of a century home hint of a love story.
And the symbols with the inscription suggest the philosophy that carried Ronald J. Van Dress through 98 years of his ordinary yet extraordinary life. That life ended Nov. 25 when he died in the Maximo home he had shared with his wife, Caroline, for most of their nearly 68-year marriage.
Their initials — R & C — along with the words “Pour Toujours” (for always) are carved below a crucifix along with the first initial of each of their 15 children. Below that is an eagle clutching a flag.
God, family, country.
Ronald and Caroline held hands as they walked to church each Sunday, spent years renovating their Victorian home and disliked being apart so much they once managed to pack 11 children (four more yet to come) and luggage into a Cadillac so he could be with them while on a work trip to Kentucky.
Born July 31, 1925, in Navarre, Ronald lived all his life in Stark County except for his service overseas during WWII.
He played baseball, basketball and football in his youth, and his love of ice skating might have prompted him to add a pond to his 7-acre property. His athleticism served him well on the front lines as a machine gunner in the U.S. Army.
While still in high school at St. John (now Central Catholic) he was drafted in 1944 to join his three brothers already serving. At the request of his worried mom, he was given a deferment to finish high school first.
Ronald never understood how he fought for 21 days in the Battle of Okinawa and survived without a scratch. He was later awarded a Bronze Star.
“I’m thankful for my life,” he told a Maps Air Museum interviewer in 2021.
He did not often talk about his service and never fully shared the horrors of war until becoming an unlikely author at age 90. His book, “Dear Mom,” centers around letters he sent home and his memories of the time.
Ronald might easily have been killed as he slept when his dog tags were stolen by a Japanese soldier who tried to sneak through allied lines.
“I lived a charmed life,” the combat veteran believed.
He was honorably discharged Nov. 8, 1946, a year after the war ended.
Life back in Canton was not an easy adjustment but changed for the better when he met Caroline in a college French class at Kent State. They were married in 1949 and shared an unbreakable bond until her death in 2017.
Among his jobs was a brief stint as a radio announcer reciting poetry. Breakfast was always a fried egg with Hungarian peppers, and tending the gardens was the after-dinner order of nearly every evening, following a full day of work for the federal Dept. of Agriculture where he opened the food stamp program in 9 counties. He later worked as director of the Community Action Agency in Sebring.
In retirement, he learned to make bread and he and Caroline continued to garden, forming friendships with those who noticed the sign at the end of their driveway and stopped to buy vegetables.
Ronald is survived by all 15 of his children and their spouses, along with many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
His Mass of Christian burial will be 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Maximo. Burial, with military honors, will immediately follow at St. Clement Cemetery in Navarre. There will be no calling hours.
You are invited to view Ronald's tribute wall, offer condolences and share memories at www.sharerfuneralhome.com. Arrangements are by the Sharer-Stirling-Skivolocke Funeral Home.
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