Ronald K. Mendelblat

1937 - 2024

Ronald K. Mendelblat, 86, died October 18, 2024, Born December 29, 1937, the son of Milton and Kathryn (nee Kann) Mendelblat, his early life was to be profoundly affected by events of World War II.

His father after being declared "missing in action" for over a year was reported killed in action September 30, 1944 in Luxembourg although his remains were not located and returned until years later. An uncle, Lt. Larry Ress, had previously been killed in France serving as a tank driver in Gen. Patton's Third Army. By this time Ron and his mother had become part of the "family" of her sister, Josephine Rothberg, and brother-in-law Major Maurice Rothberg, who had returned from overseas duty and was then stationed in Waltham, Massachusetts along with cousins Pete and Steve Rothberg until returning to Fort Wayne where Ron completed grade and secondary school as salutatorian of South Side High School class of 1955.

The Incipient prospect of an appointment to the military academy at West Point was immediately nixed by Ron's mother who determined the family had "given enough", and Ron enrolled at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts where he was named to Phi Beta Kappa his Junior year and graduated Cum Laude in 1959; he then entered the PhD Program at Yale University in organic chemistry where after a year decided he had been cloistered in academia long enough and needed to have a taste of the world. He then went to work at the Dow Chemical Company in Midland, Michigan where he banked enough money to finance an application to Harvard University where he received a Masters in Business Administration following which he moved on to Wall Street first for A.G. Becker, and then as a partner in a venture capital fund during the "Go-go Sixties". Ultimately leaving Wall Street after the bloom wore off, Ron worked for years in the chemical Industry with client companies on commercial applications of surfactants. He retired in his mid-fifties following serious health challenges and thereafter while living in Chicago spent years visiting "far away places with strange sounding names" including many trips to Europe and South America where a facility for languages including German and French came in more than handy.

Survivors include cousins Suzi Stone, of Reston, Virginia; Cathy Lash, of Fort Wayne; Debbie Rothberg, of Washington, D.C. and Steve Rothberg, of Fort Wayne. He was preceded in death by cousin, Peter Rothberg. At Ron's request there will be no ceremonies or service. Preferred memorials may be directed to The Kathryn Kann Mendelblat Cultural Enrichment Fund, c/o The Temple, 5200 Old Mill Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46807 or Humane Fort Wayne, 901 Leesburg Rd, Fort Wayne, IN 46808. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at https://www.mccombandsons.com for the Mendelblat family.