Born and raised (one of nine children) in Robinson, Illinois, Ron graduated from High School in 1964 then attended Eastern Illinois University for three semesters but joined the Army in February 1966. Ron married his childhood sweetheart, Kaye, on Easter Sunday in March of 1967. Ron then attended Infantry Officer Candidate School at Ft. Benning, Georgia, graduating as a 2nd Lieutenant in December 1967. He was deployed to Vietnam in 1969 and was stationed in Japan from October 1979 through August 1983. During this time Ron and Kaye had three children (two girls and a boy). They were stationed at Ft. Huachuca when he retired from the Army in October 1987 as a Lieutenant Colonel. While in the Army, Ron attended the University of Arizona receiving a degree in Electrical Engineering. Further schooling attended while in the Army resulted in a Master of Science equivalent in Telecommunications Engineering and a Masters in Safety and Systems Management. After retiring, Ron worked for a small electronics company in Sierra Vista, AZ as Vice President for Business Development for several years and then deployed to Iraq as a contractor in 2004, establishing Satellite Communications for the Multinational Corps.

Ron and Kaye moved to Payson, AZ in 2002 when Kaye was transferred as the President of a local bank and Ron traveled back and forth to Sierra Vista on weekends until November 2009 at which time he went to work for General Dynamics in Scottsdale as a Security Engineer, finally retiring in February 2016. Through the years, Ron and Kaye attended several different Christian Churches, first in Sierra Vista then in Payson, choosing Ponderosa Bible Church as their Church in 2005 where they served as Deacon and Deaconess as well as in several other mission areas. They both joined the local camp of the Gideons International in 2011 and continue to serve with them, spreading the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. They now reside, once again, in Southern Illinois.