Ronald A. Everson, 89, passed away March 28, 2020, at the United Pioneer Home in Luck. As a man of both extraordinary height and strong character, many have described Ron as a man they looked up to.
Ron was born January 19, 1931, in Stoughton, Wisconsin, to the Reverend James and Olga Everson. The family moved to Atlas in 1935, where Ron attended the Alabama grade school and confirmed his Christian faith at the Atlas United Methodist Church. A 1949 graduate of Luck High School, he was a standout in football and basketball, playing in the sectional basketball tournament in Spooner his junior and senior years.
After working at the Co-Op filling station in Luck, Ron moved to Madison to pursue an apprenticeship in carpentry. His progress was interrupted by the onset of the Korean War and his enlistment in the Navy. After completing boot camp in Great Lakes, Illinois, he shipped out to Anacostia Air Station in Washington, D.C. He played on the station’s basketball team, winning the Potomac River Naval District Championship. He next attended aviation preparatory school in Jacksonville, Florida, and trained in electronics at the Naval Support Base in Covington, Tennessee. It was an easy trip from there into Memphis, where Ron attended many all-night singing events and developed his love of gospel quartet music. He made starting center on the base’s basketball team, going all the way to the Navy’s East Coast playoffs. He was then stationed for a year at the Naval Air Station at Barber’s Point, Hawaii, and another year at Alaska’s Kodiak Naval Operating Base.
Following his service in the Navy, Ron returned to Madison and completed his carpentry apprenticeship. He founded and operated his own construction business, building homes and churches throughout the Madison area. While singing bass in the choir at Bethany Free Church, he met Betty Skinner -- a sweet, fun-loving gal in the soprano section. They were married May 12, 1956, and were blessed with four children: Jane, Jim, Jan and Jon. They were charter members of the Buckeye Evangelical Free Church in Madison, with Ron overseeing construction of the new church building and serving for a time as church chairman.
The family moved back to Cushing in 1973, where Ron took up farming and continued building on occasion. He was an active member at the Atlas United Methodist church, and later at Trade Lake Baptist Church. After a fire damaged the Luck school in 1976, he chaired the Citizens Advisory Committee that developed recommendations for rebuilding the school. He sang with the Indianhead Chorus for many years and served briefly as the constable for Laketown Township. Many area residents remember Ron as their school bus driver – a position he held for 27 years until a stroke forced his retirement in 2003.
From his early years, Ron loved the outdoors and excelled in many sports. He was an avid hunter, fisherman, golfer, bowler, gardener and woodworker. He followed the Packers, Vikings, Brewers, and Badgers, and enjoyed watching pro bowling and golf. He will be remembered for his fun-loving personality, sense of humor and adventure, beautiful singing voice, and dedication to his family.
Ron inspired many with his resilience and pursuit of purposeful activity in the face of many physical challenges. He struggled for decades with chronic pain due to sports injuries and his active lifestyle, and suffered numerous health problems in his later years. After a stroke curtailed his mobility in 2003, Ron responded by taking up painting and designing and building dozens of unique birdhouses. Upon moving to the United Pioneer Home in September of 2019, he designed a small art studio for his room and created a new painting almost every day. In appreciation for the wonderful care and loving community he experienced there, he donated 80 paintings that were given as gifts to the staff and residents.
Although he enjoyed many hobbies, the most important thing to Ron was for everyone to know that God loves them, and that they can be sure of their eternal destiny by placing their faith in Jesus Christ.
Ron was preceded in death by his parents, the Reverend James and Olga Everson; sister, Marguerite Walsten and brothers, James Jr. and Everett Everson. He is survived by his wife, Betty of 63 years; sister, Joan Phillips of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; children, Jane Quick Hanson (Norm) of St. Croix Falls, James (Julie) Everson of Roseville, Minnesota, Jan (friend Jeff) and Jon (Cherie) Everson of Luck; 8 grandchildren, Jason and Josiah (Britta) Quick, Christina (Sama) Sandy, Eric and Leah Everson, and Andrei, Masha, and Isaac Todd; 6 great-grandchildren, Amelia, Coen, Ivy, Bram, Marlowe and Soren; and many beloved nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held at a later date. Condolences may be sent to Betty in care of the United Pioneer Home, 623 South Second Street, Luck, Wisconsin, 54853.
You are invited to leave condolences, memories and photos at
www.rowefh.com . Arrangements are entrusted to Rowe Funeral Home, 715-472-2444 and the Northwest Wisconsin Cremation Center in Milltown.
