Ronald Wayne (R.W.) Gillette Sr., age 85, passed away at St. Joseph Hospital, surrounded by his family on Friday August 11th, 2017. He was born on April 8th, 1932 in Kansas City, Missouri to T. F. and Madeline (Morris) Gillette. Ronald was awarded with a Certificate of Merit for Achievement in Industry Arts at the National Industry Arts Exhibition held at the Museum of Science and Industry, in Chicago Illinois while attending East High School in Kansas City and went on to graduate from the University of Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC) with a degree in Physics. On July 29th, 1960, he married Ruby Fern Ellifrits. Together, they had two children. Ronald was owner of the R.W. Gillette Company and American Tennis Court Builders, Inc. who constructed tennis courts and running tracks for many major universities and sports centers in Missouri, Oklahoma, Iowa, Illinois Nebraska and Kansas. Ronald was also the owner/operator of the Wellsville Oil Company until his retirement in 2001. He is survived by his beloved wife of 57 years, Ruby, daughter Ronda Gillette and granddaughter Liv Gillette, son Ron Jr. (Susan) Gillette and many nieces and nephews. Affirmation services will be held at the lakeside columbarium on Saturday, September 9th, 11:00 am at Mount Moriah Cemetery. The Gillette Family would like to extend our gratitude to all the staff of St. Joseph Hospital, especially those in the ICU for their attentiveness and loving care during his final days. In Lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Ron’s name to charities supporting the Sciences, Technology, Engineering or Math (STEM).
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Eleanor P.
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I met Ron over 26 years ago when I started dating his son, my future husband, Ron Jr. he was always very kind to me. Ron worked hard all of his life to provide for his family. We will miss you, Ron.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you, Ron and your family. Ron truly carries his dad’s legacy in his work ethics and enginuity in his work and I’m sure his dad would be proud of his accomplishments.
Our thoughts are with you. Sorry for your loss.
Sincerely, Jaci, Dan and Emma
We are very sorry for your loss. Our thoughts are with you during this difficult time.