Ronald Stephen Manns

Ronald Stephen Manns

Georgetown, TX - Ronald Stephen Manns (Ron), 65, of Georgetown, Texas, passed away on April 3, 2019, at home. He had lived with cancer for five and half years but shunned battle metaphors in favor of living with gratitude and wonder every day.

Ron was born in Lubbock, Texas to Thomas Edward Manns, Jr. and Eula Mae Sneed Manns on June 3, 1953. He graduated from Justin F. Kimball high school in Dallas, Texas, in 1971, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Baylor University in 1975. He received a Master of Religious Education in the Social Work program from Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky in 1978 and a Master of Science in Psychology, Applied Behavior Analysis program, from The University of Texas at Arlington in 1983. He also did doctoral studies in Special Education and Educational Psychology at The University of Texas at Austin.

Ron began his professional career at Buckner Baptist Children's Home in Dallas but soon moved into the field known then as mental health and mental retardation (MHMR), now referred to as services for people with intellectual disabilities. He worked in direct-care facilities and administration at the county, state, and federal levels in a variety of positions related to quality assurance, regulation compliance, and improvement of services, always with a profound focus on ensuring the best quality of life possible for the individuals he served, with particular attention to their unique preferences for living a fulfilling life.

Ron was an active member of the International Association for Behavior Analysis and the Texas Association of Behavior Analysis and was a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). He ended his career as the Director of Behavioral Services at the Abilene State Supported Living Center and described it as his dream job, leading the development of several innovative programs and mentoring and coaching a number of staff psychologists in earning the BCBA designation. He retired in March of 2017 and moved with his wife to Georgetown, Texas, to spend more time with his children and grandchildren in the Austin area.

Ron was an avid runner, cyclist, and swimmer. He began sailing as a teenager and continued most of his life, raising his children to love it, too. He enjoyed white water kayaking, fly fishing, and playing his guitar and mandolin. Ron will be remembered by friends and family for his witty sense of humor and affinity for puns. As his health deteriorated and he was no longer able to do the physical things he enjoyed, he made it his purpose to find at least one person every day to make laugh, whether his health care professionals or strangers he encountered on the street.

Ron is survived by his high school sweetheart and wife of 43 years, Deborah Dillard Manns of Georgetown; son Aaron Thomas Manns, daughter-in-law Sarah Kincheloe, grandson Clarence Winters Manns and granddaughter Sidney Mae Manns of Austin; son Andrew Douglas Manns of Austin; daughter Amy Manns Surko, son-in-law Jack Surko, granddaughter Ainsley Mac Surko and grandson John Joseph Surko IV of Hutto; his mother Mae Manns of Hendersonville, North Carolina; sister Ann Walker and brother-in-law Gil Walker of Saluda, North Carolina; as well as a number of aunts, uncles, nieces, great nieces and nephews, and many cousins who will miss him greatly. He was predeceased by his father, Tommy Manns.

A memorial service will be held at The Gabriels Funeral Chapel, 393 N. Interstate 35, Georgetown, Texas, on Friday, April 12, 2019, at 2 p.m. There will be no burial service as Ron requested that his ashes be scattered on a river he loved.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Prostate Cancer Foundation (pcf.org) or Zero Prostate Cancer (zerocancer.org).