Ronald Fess

Ronald Owen Fess was born October 6, 1945 in Ellenville, NY to Owen and Lorraine Fess. He died on October 11, 2019 at the age of 74 at his lake home near Hayward, WI. Ron spent his early childhood years in in Cleveland, Mississippi and moved to Deerfield, Illinois when he was 15. He attended Deerfield High School and majored in Math at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. As a child he enjoyed Boy Scouts, fishing, basketball, baseball, and football. He earned his master's degree in Computer Science at the University of Iowa. His 27-year long career at IBM began in 1969. Ron was a Senior Technical Staff Member and served as Lead Architect on the AS/400 and predecessor computer systems. He made many outstanding technical contributions and Ron was the 'go to' guy in many instances where system level expertise was required. He was admired by many for his efforts and ability to resolve difficult technical problems. In 1967, Ron married his love, Linda. Together they raised three self-reliant, strong, intelligent daughters: Catherine, Jennifer, and Barbara. Ron taught all three girls to be "handy" around the house, enjoy participating in sports, and being outdoors. If asked about his life accomplishments, Ron would likely say that he is most proud of his three daughters. Ron was blessed to have eight grandsons, and those eight boys have been blessed with such an active and loving grandpa. From the lake to the golf course, and from infancy to present, he has been involved with their lives and sharing his own experiences. Grandpa loved supporting from the sidelines for many soccer games, swim meets, band concerts, and other events to see his grandsons shine. In 1979, Ron was a charter member of Hosanna Lutheran Church. Over the past 40 years, he has been involved with all aspects of the church from Council president to Sunday School teacher. Ron was an integral part of building the church and supporting its continued growth. He supported Ronald McDonald House and was on the board of trustees from 2001 to 2006. Throughout Ron's life, he has been a competitive athlete. He especially enjoyed volleyball, racquetball and golf. Running has been a constant in his life, including several marathons. Ron enjoyed hunting, gardening, fishing, and duplicate bridge. Ron is survived by his wife of 52 years, Linda; three daughters Catherine (Bryan) Zent, Jennifer (Derek) Regensburger and Barbara (Chris) Nord; eight grandsons Matthew, Owen, Andrew, Noah, Aidan, Harrison, Everett and Oliver; brother, Arthur (Linda) Fess; two sisters Carol (Norm) Kidder and Margaret (Kurt) Buckowich; 16 nieces and nephews. Ron was preceded in death by his parents, Owen and Lorraine Fess. Visitation service will be October 20, 2019 from 5 - 8 pm at Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Home (5421 Royal Place NW) and funeral service will be October 21, 2019 at 10 am at Hosanna Lutheran Church (2815 57th St. NW). In lieu of flowers, the family asks if you would consider a donation to Ronald McDonald House (RMHC.org).