Obituaries

Ronald W. Hevey, Sr., born July 27, 1941, left this life attended by his wife and beloved pets in very early December 26, 2022, after a four-year journey with cancer. Born in Madison, WI, Ron was Midwest through and through. Upon receiving an electrical engineering degree (1964) from the University of Wisconsin, Ron accepted a position with the DuPont Company in Wilmington, DE, working in their labs where he obtained two patents related to research on heat-resistant films. He also earned an MBA from the University of Delaware, and in 1970, the nascent computer age beckoned him to join a small startup, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), which became one of the two largest mainframe computer businesses in the nation from the 1970s through early 1990s. While there, Ron served as a technical sale executive servicing clients like the National Institutes of Health. He earned an Executive MBA from Harvard Business School, and eventually became DEC Area VP for sales and technical support in New York City overseeing a large team. Ron loved his work, creating a team culture of positivity, encouragement, and approachability while also being no nonsense and results oriented. Ever up for a challenge, Ron joined a rugged, team-building Outward Bound, camping trip to climb a 12,000 ft peak in Rocky Mountain National Park at frigid temperatures. His teams loved working for and with him—evidenced by the large number who stayed in touch well beyond his 1993 retirement from DEC.

Besides work, Ron cultivated other great passions. Topmost were his two sons, five granddaughters, a stepson and stepdaughter. “I’ve got a girls’ basketball team!” he’d proudly beam when asked about grandchildren. He coached his sons’ soccer and baseball teams and led Boy Scouts. Later in life when he met Diane, the person he referred to as “the love of my life,” he enjoyed mentoring her two children.

Another passion was cars and open wheel racing. Within two minutes of any car ride, Ron would comment on every other type of car on the road--model, year, specs. He loved working on cars and tinkered to the end of his days with his much-loved 1976 BMW model 2002, which he drove on tracks all over the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. He babied his now 23-year-old BMW M3 Roadster bringing it out with the top down only in good-weather road rallies and leisure trips. A long-time member of the BMW car club, Ron became a certified BMW performance driving instructor in the early 90s and instructed scores of students at about 100 performance driving school events over decades. “When you drive smooth you drive faster and safer,” he’d say, “Smooth always comes first.” He enjoyed trips to pro and amateur races with friends and his wife, Diane, including several Indy 500 races. One of Ron’s biggest thrills was a surprise birthday gift from Diane at Pocono Raceway—fast laps around the track in an Indycar at 180 MPH with none other than all-time great Mario Andretti.

A passion that rivaled his love of cars was the joy he found in art and painting--landscapes in plein air and portraits of people and pets. Ron produced nearly 1000 oil paintings. He trained for years taking evening classes at The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Woodmere Art Museum, and Studio Incammanati in Philadelphia. Favorite local painting sites included Morris Arboretum, Ft. Washington State Park, Chester County, and the flower gardens around the Mt. Airy Philadelphia home he shared with Diane.

Lastly, Ron’s passions included living a strong faith in action. He served his local parish and Catholic school, Holy Cross, on advisory councils. He enjoyed being a guest at Diane’s church, Second Baptist Church of Germantown, helped on projects there and was lovingly referred to as “BaptiCatholic.” He served as chairman of the board of the Buildabridge, a nonprofit that uses visual and performing arts to minister to people in some tough places in the world, from North Philadelphia homeless shelters to Guatemalan prisons. Ron didn’t just lead in the boardroom, he traveled doing mission work on the ground with fellow artists, recognizing and affirming God’s spirit in each person he met and worked with.

Ron is survived by his partner and wife, Diane Robertson, sons Gerald (Bridget) and Ron Jr, stepson Jesse Steele, stepdaughter Juliane Steele, sister Carol Lynne Melo (Victor), niece Emily Cauthen (John), nephew Alexander Melo (Michele), five granddaughters (Meghan, Katelyn, Lauren, Aimee, Adelaide), a grandnephew and grandniece, several cousins, and two rescue cats, Jazzdup and Rollie.

Private interment with family will be in Madison, WI. In Philadelphia, all are welcome to an interfaith Celebration of Life service and repast on Saturday, January 28, 2023, 11 a.m. at The Second Baptist Church of Germantown, 6459 Germantown Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19119. Ample free and handicap accessible parking available on site; access lot from Cliveden Street at Germantown Ave.

Memorial donations: Edgewood Catholic High School Scholarship Fund in Madison, WI; Brenda’s Cat Rescue in Philadelphia https://www.brendascatrescue.org/; or Buildabridge International https://www.buildabridge.org/