Ronald Stanley Sedlacek, passed into eternity and the open arms of his savior, Jesus Christ, on the morning of June 5, 2020 at the home of his daughter Joanna in Middlebury, Indiana.
Dad was a man of extraordinary talent, ability, effort and service. He was also a man who knew that those things were a gift of God’s grace.
He was born on April 4, 1937 in Fremont, NE to Wes and Bernice Sedlacek, the eldest of six children. I think to a man – or woman- they would all say he fulfilled the role of elder brother remarkably well.
In 1959 he married Marcia Ormseth, the woman who in his words ‘In the Godly part of my mind is the inspiration behind most everything good I have ever done or written.’ It was a grand romance that served as a role model to communities worldwide as his 21 years in the Navy took them to many different places.
After retiring from the Navy as Master Chief in 1977, dad and mom moved back to Pensacola where he worked as an insurance agent for many years. First with Northwestern Mutual Life, then at his own agency. He retired at the age of 79. Every step of the way dad involved himself in the community – from coaching baseball in Japan to serving as Board President of the Manna Food bank in Pensacola. Dad always recognized his call to share Christ’s love with others. He also did that through many years of prison ministry, which included publishing a book of daily devotions written by the men he met there. He had a poet’s mind and a writer’s ability. He wrote numerous poems throughout his life, mainly directed at or inspired by his family.
Dad was very intentional about his relationships, whether family or friend. One of the ways those relationships were nurtured over the years for BOTH of those groups was at an annual gathering at the beach or occasionally elsewhere. As the family grew, so did the ‘flavor of the family stew’ as he would say. And it was good.
To say that dad will be missed leaves so much unsaid that it would be almost pointless…almost. Dad will be missed. But he will also be celebrated and appreciated and thought about for years to come.
He is proceeded in death by his parents and two brothers, Wes and Don. He is survived by Marcia, his wife of 60 years, 5 children -David (Andrea); Chris (Peggy); Stephen (Debbie); Mary (Jack) Vogt and Joanna (Chris) Erekson, 15 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren (1 of which is still comfortably nestled in his/her mother’s womb). Also 2 brothers (Dave and Gary) and 1 sister (Kathy)
Donations in his honor may be made to Manna Food Bank Inc. (mannahelps.org), Waterfront Rescue Mission (waterfrontmission.org), both in Pensacola or PrisonFellowship.org
A memorial service is being planned for the fall in Pensacola, FL
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