A great man has many great stories…
Ronald Wood, 63, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer, passed on April 30, 2023 in Hoffman Estates IL. With God’s grace he transitioned to eternal life in his home with hospice care, embraced by his children’s voices and wife at his bedside.
Ron is survived by his loving wife of 42 years, Jan and their children Kevin, Brian and Emma. He is also survived by his sisters Kathy (Frank) Golt and Casey (Wayne) Madsen, by his nieces and nephews Michael Golt, Jason Golt, Linnea (Mohannad) Madsen Albayari and Courtney Wesa. He is preceded in death by his parents Ronald and Roberta (nee Mansfield) Wood and by his grandparents Robert and Vera (nee Arden) Mansfield, Wilburn Wood and Naomi (nee Beasley) Wood.
Ron was a devoted husband and father, raising 3 beautiful children, always volunteering to participate in their endeavors and striving to be active in their lives. At Holy Family he was actively engaged in CFM/Christian Family Movement, Marriage Encounter, Parenting and Baptism Preparation, and Small Christian Communities. Ron touched many lives with his active involvement in Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, as well as Fremd Band chaperone, and soccer coach. After studying Engineering at the University of Illinois, he worked for his family’s office furniture manufacturing company, demonstrated a talent for product design, and eventually became president. He later enjoyed helping others while working as a Creative at Apple. He was known by many as an exemplary problem solver and the best go-to person when you were in a jam. And on that note, his passion for music was contagious and eclectic. As a brass instrumentalist he also loved to jam to Chicago tunes on his flute. Ron was a car fanatic, audiophile and lifelong avid reader.
We’ve collected our favorites to share with the world here!
If you have more stories to share, the world needs to hear them! Share your stories on Ron’s facebook page, and help all those that love him to hear your favorite moments with him.
A Collection of Old School Tech
Direct from Dad
“This is my ‘vintage audio’ collection. Some of it I had gathering dust in my basement, some pieces I inherited from my father-in-law.
– Ron, reddit Post
The Harman Kardon receiver is from the mid-70s and was given to me by a buddy who is also into the old gear. The Kenwood turntable I bought new in ‘78. The Onkyo cassette deck is from 1980. The speakers are the amazing Altec Valencia’s my father-in-law bought new in ‘66. The Sony reel-to-reel was also my father-in-law’s.
There’s also a Soundcraftsman equalizer and a Pioneer 6-disc CD changer. I hooked up this system about a year ago. I still had many of my old albums from back in the day.
I inherited some great jazz albums from my dad, and some interesting reel-to-reel recordings from my father-in-law. But when I want to listen to newer music, I have an Apple Airport Express connected to the system so I can stream to it.”
Dad Core is a collection of Ron’s favorite songs, as remembered by his kids. You can also listen below on Spotify!
Old School Cool
Levi’s – Quality Never Goes out of Style
Iconic.
Timeless.
Drippy.
While you’re young, you just have to take a moment to appreciate that maybe your parents were, at one point, pretty cool.
And then you get older and realize that maybe they were always cool…
How Ron and Jan’s Love Story Began…
“40 years ago, this piece of paper changed the course of my life… It was my senior year at Prospect. It so happened that a certain girl, a fellow band nerd, was in my 1st and 2nd period classes. Even though we had been in band together for 3 years, I really didn’t know her.
All I knew about her was that she got straight A’s, that she occasionally showed up to practices driving a ’68 Jaguar E-type convertible, and that she was one of those “nice” girls who never got into trouble. I was the exact opposite: I was not a serious student, I drove a deathtrap Buick (that was well known to the local constabulary), and I did get into trouble a lot.
But as we began walking to 2nd period together, I started to learn more about her. She was open and sincere, and completely unpretentious. And she had this goofy, out-of-left-field sense of humor. Soon, I was beguiled. But there was no way I was going to ask this girl out, because in my mind there was no way she would ever say “yes.” I was a knucklehead.
So on this fateful day in mid-October, the day before Sweetest Day 1976, the band was lining up before pre-game and I guess the girl was tired of waiting for me so she took the initiative. She said, “Give me something to write on,” so I slipped a piece of music out of my flip-folder: the Tuba part to “Yesterday.” On the back, she wrote her phone number and told me to call her the next day. And I did.
Thank you, Jan, for being that certain girl. Then and now. And Happy Sweetest Day.”
Dad doing Quality Control on his work
The Engineer
Dad has forever been the handyman, the architect, the builder, the fixer, the troubleshooter, the designer, the installer, the re-installer, the re- re- installer, the researcher, the source of knowledge (even if it was random 70’s trivia), and “the guy” to talk to if you ever lost your confidence
If I could pinpoint the source of my “how hard could it be” attitude towards life, it would probably be a moment like this.
This is a shelf that dad built for Mom in the den to hold her 1.2 metric tons of medical journals and work books.
Dad’s Gran Torino
Direct from Dad
“The 70s… wow… what wasn’t cringeworthy about the 70s? I had a pale yellow leisure suit, big-collared shirt, white belt, that I wore for jazz band concerts in high school.
– ron, reddit post
I had a ’73 Ford Torino so of course I had to wear a Starsky and Hutch sweater. I wore gradient-shaded wire-rim glasses. I tried to grow my hair long, but it turned into a white-guy fro.
Thankfully, very few photos exist from that era.”
Ron and Brad: Best Friends Since Kindergarten
Direct from Dad
“When I was a kid I used to greet my best friend by saying ‘You ugly piece of shit!” and he would reply with “No, you is ugly!’ Which, when he said it, came out sounding like “zugly.” This was over 40 years ago. When we talk on the phone, I still greet him with ‘Ugly.'”
– Ron, reddit post
Dad and his contraband in the frat house…
Allegedly the vise grips seen in the lower left hand corner are still used in our household to this day…
Direct from Dad
“Scanned an old Polaroid of me in my frat room during my Ian Anderson phase, 1978”
– Ron, Reddit post
Brother and Sister in the old house
Direct from Dad
“Old School Cool (my sister) and Old School NOT cool (me) around 1972”
– ron, reddit post
A household full of pets
Nosey the Raccoon
The Wood family household in Mt Prospect was revolving door for creatures from all parts of the animal kingdom. Dogs, mice, snakes, alligators, rats, and at one point, Nosey the Raccoon. Apparently Nosey liked to terrorize the neighborhood dogs when they got too comfortable in its owners yard…
Dad running the business
The Magic of the Factory
II remember the feeling of awe that I felt the first time Dad took me to the factory. I couldn’t comprehend the industry, technology, or business; all I saw was a seemingly endless domain of monstrous machinery and hard-nosed workers creating steel-and-wood products.
I saw my father as the head of a whole universe.
Dad and my Uncle Mike designed and produced furniture together at M&M. My Dad would later become president of M&M’s parent company, B&W.