RONALD M. STAUB

STAUB, RONALD M. (RONNIE) D.D.S., January 25, 1933 - June 13, 2012. HERE LIES DR. STAUB, THE LAST CAVITY HE'LL EVER FILL. The above is almost the last insistent reminder Ronnie gave his family before his death. For years he had said that was to be inscribed on his headstone, determined to make people laugh for as long as he could, and equally determined to make sure his directions were followed. Eternally young at heart, he was a very loving and caring father, always putting the interests and well being of his sons, Keith of Miami, and Scott of La Jolla, California, before all else. Genuinely interested in all they did, selfless and generous, he was both friend and mentor not just to them but also to their friends, to nieces and nephews and anyone who came across his path. In addition to his sons, he is survived by their mother Bernice (Bunny) Herman, of Boca Raton, his brother in law Joe Miller also of Boca Raton, his former wife and friend Patricia Dwyer of Coral Gables, by nieces and nephews and many good friends. His parents and his only sister, Thelma Miller, predeceased him. Born in Brooklyn, NY to David and Fannie (Weiss) Staub, Ron was an intense and energetic person, who grew up and spent his career as a dentist in Brooklyn but has had ties to Miami since he was a child. He graduated from Stuyvesant High School, Brooklyn College and from New York University College of Dentistry in 1957. After two years as a Captain in the Army, he opened a practice in Brooklyn in a small medical building where he kept his office until he retired, slowly expanding it from a single chair to most of a floor. He had kept an apartment in Miami since 1974, and he was happiest sitting in the sun, where you could find him most weekends from then on. Ronnie turned 79 in January and had multiple Myeloma for 12 years, which is an extraordinarily long time for that disease, and a testament to his strength and tenacity. During the 1970's and 1980's he did several stints of volunteer dentistry in Paraguay and Guatemala. He worked mostly in towns with no water or electricity and arrived with duffle bags full of novacane and his tools. No X-rays were available and all he could do was extractions. People lined up by the hundreds, and would usually sit on whatever chair was available, with someone holding their head while he treated them. Approaching that as he did everything, he worked for hours and hours every day, to the point that his hand got so swollen that the condition became permanent. He wanted to make sure everyone who came for help got it, even if it meant working by flashlight He reveled in the new experiences, the new places and in the work, and won the hearts of the people in every town. If a patient needed antibiotics before treatment he bought them and paid the nearest dentist to treat them later. He loved telling about a pre-teen boy with an impish grin and a very prominent rotated bicuspid. He claimed it hurt, but Ron knew it was a question of aesthetics and that removing it would cause no harm, so he winked at the boy and had him added to the patient list. He loved to travel, and most weekends left NYC on Thursday, either to come to Miami, or for lightening fast trips all over the world. His preferred schedule was to arrive back in New York just in time to go straight to the office. During the 1980's his son Keith had an interest in a chicken restaurant in downtown Miami and on the weekends, Ron, always a character, would put on a chicken costume and walk around handing out menus. When an immigration van stopped him and asked to see his green card, without missing a beat, in his best Brooklyn accent and slang he said "I ain't got no green card, I got a Gold card!" He once walked into the Eastern airlines office in the chicken costume, flapped his wings and said he wanted to check his frequent flyer mileage, rattled off his account number and left the agents totally befuddled when they checked and he had a million miles. He loved people and just being goofy. When nervous kids came into his office, he'd squirt them with the water line and tell them "quick, open your mouth and let me look before the dentist gets here!" He'd have the kids smiling and treated before they knew what was going on. After he retired from dentistry and moved to Miami full time, he took a job at the Port of Miami, meeting and greeting cruise passengers. He enjoyed people, had a prodigious memory, a great sense of humor and delighted in making everyone laugh. At the Port he had a story and a comical routine for every situation and nationality, using what he'd learned in his travels. He made an impression wherever he went, and will be remembered fondly by many people in many places. Burial was Friday, June 15 at Lakeside Memorial Park. View this Guest Book at www. MiamiHerald.com/obituaries.