Ronald "Ronnie" Edward Smith's Obituary
Ronald (Ronnie) Edward Smith, beloved father, brother, grandfather, and husband passed away peacefully on the afternoon of January 12, 2017 at the age of 69. Born Sept 23, 1947 in Charleston, West Virginia, he enjoyed a nature-filled childhood with two brothers Kenny and Dean and sister Kay, fondly remembering exploring the mountains in his backyard, camping with family, hiking with friends, and serving as a Boy Scout. His father Arthur worked in an electrical plant; his father’s father was a coal miner. Ron would eventually leave his home town to take on a very different life. At the University of Tennessee he met his future wife Ching and earned his Bachelor's degree in industrial engineering. They soon married and moved to Florida where he earned his law degree from the University of Florida. They welcomed their first daughter Angie shortly after his graduation, and four years later after moving to Dunedin, FL, they welcomed their second daughter Lisa. Ron established himself as a respected patent attorney, writing and prosecuting over 1,000 patents during his career before retiring in 2015. His colleagues remember him as the hard-working yet always light-hearted and witty senior partner who would declare that everyone take the rest of the day off-at the end of the day. Ron was also a devout student of Zen Buddhism and was an active member of the Clear Water Zen Center, founder of the Zen Practice Foundation, and author of the website Howtopracticezen.com. Ron also founded and was very active in the Tampa Bay Vegetarian society and the Tampa Bay Inventors Council. He was an adventurous, fun-loving family man who loved nature, traveling to new places, telling great stories, enjoying music (particularly his favorite band the Rolling Stones), studying Chinese and Japanese, reading good books, practicing tai chi, and making people laugh. He is survived by his brother Kenny and sister Kay, two daughters, and seven grandchildren. His legacy lives on in many hearts as he joins his beloved wife.
A celebration of remembrance in honor of Ron will be held in April. Please email [email protected] for more information.
The Smiths were generous supporters of the Tzu Chi Foundation which provides global disaster relief, food, and medicine to people in need. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made at https://tzuchi.us/donate/
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