Ronald Stroup

Ronald Stroup May 23, 1934 - Jan 14, 2020

Ronald Stroup, 85, died peacefully at the Carson Tahoe Care Center in Carson City, NV, on Tuesday, January 14, 2020.

Born in Yakima, WA, on May 23, 1934, he was the son of Harold LeRoy and Anne Elizabeth (Martell) Stroup. A born raconteur and people person, he spent his early life surrounded by his eccentric extended family, who taught him to play pinochle as soon as he could sit up in a chair and hold the cards. He married RoseMary Frenzel on August 11, 1954, while AWOL from the US Army, wearing a suit borrowed from a friend because he had lost so much weight in basic training. He went back, returned the suit, and served as a helicopter maintenance instructor until his honorable discharge in 1956.

He had great technical aptitude and was in the vanguard of helicopter mechanics and computer programming, working at Boeing, Hayes Aircraft, and McClellan Air Force Base, and later programming for casinos, hospitals, and the State of California, where he was a crime studies analyst, and the State of Nevada Crime Commission, for which he served as the Chief of Identification and Communications. He retired from the Reynolds Electrical and Engineering Company at the Tonopah Test Range in 1993.

Ron and RoseMary raised their family in Sacramento, CA, and Carson City, NV. He enjoyed traveling, photography, and collecting and drinking wine. With his quick wit and gregariousness, he made friends wherever he went, and was affectionately known to his fellow card-players as "Old Turkey Butt" for his ability to turn terrible cards into a winning hand at pinochle.

Ron is survived by his children Susan Pruitt, Patti Keyes, Jerry Stroup, and Martell Stroup, by his grandchildren Adrienne Pruitt, Adam Pruitt, Russell Keyes, Neal Keyes, Jeff Stroup, Todd Stroup, and Jill Stroup, and three great-grandchildren. He was the loving husband of the late RoseMary Stroup, who is probably giving him what-for in the afterlife even now.

A private family ceremony will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, stjude.org/donate.