Ron Rhondeau

CROZET, Va. - Sadly the hoped-for extension of Ron's life did not come to fruition after a brave battle against the most aggressive form of brain cancer, glioblastoma multiforme. Exactly four months after his diagnosis, Ron left us on September 2nd at the University of Virginia Hospital. We will grieve and he will be greatly missed. 
Ron was born June 27, 1935, in Bronx, New York, the son of Jack and Rosella Rhondeau, and grew up in Pocatello, Idaho, where he attended school and graduated from Idaho State University. He married the absolute love of his life, Carolyn, on October 31, 1958, with whom he spent 51 happy and memorable years. They moved to Napa, California, in 1969, where they reared their sons, Steven, Lamont, and Christopher.
During his life Ron worked as a painter in Pocatello, and spent time before his marriage in the Army. But he will be fondly remembered by those who were his students and colleagues, as a teacher in the Napa Valley Unified School District for 32 years excelling primarily in teaching mathematics and coaching at Redwood Middle School. He was a natural teacher, possessing a rare blend of discipline, humor, and unusual common sense, and his students thrived under his tutelage. He would want everyone to remember the niche he filled as a teacher, a profession he relished and one in which he did succeed according to many former students we have seen in the years since he retired. 
His greatest legacy, however, will always be his family. He reared his sons with integrity, and was a constant and sure example of sacrifice and diligence. But his most important gift to them was one of unconditional love and his unremitting attention and optimism in their lives. These attributes are seen everyday in the lives his children now try to lead in honor of him. He was a real man in a world that has too few examples of the deeper meaning of that phrase.
Ron made the most of his retirement, as he and Carolyn traveled to 61 countries. They loved to dance together and literally "danced around the world." Ron was enrolled at the Napa Valley College in tap dancing at the time of his illness. Always extremely fit, it really irritated his sons that, at the age of 72, he could still bench press more than any of them.
After his chemotherapy and radiation, he was doing well at home and had one month of joy in his new home in Crozet, Va. He saw his grandchildren daily and relished the look of his garage where he continued to tinker with those manly tools he enjoyed so much. His physical therapist told him he was her best patient, most determined, and the hardest worker as he struggled to regain his strength. He did live well, we laughed often (even these past four months), and he was much loved. We feel he gave the best he had, that he was an inspiration to others, and his memory is a benediction.
He is survived by his loving wife, Carolyn, and his sons, Dr. Steven (Susan) Rhondeau, Salt Lake City, Utah; Lamont (Julia) Rhondeau, Crozet, Virginia; Christopher Rhondeau, Washington, D.C., and seven grandchildren: Elizabeth, Olivia, Naomi, Daniel, Madeleine, Nathaniel, and Lucas. His three brothers, Jack (Sharon), Bill (Norma), and Bob, one sister, Rita Marsh (George), and sister-in-law, Marilyn Henery also survive Ron. He had many nieces, nephews, and loving friends and neighbors with whom he enjoyed and loved spending time. A celebration of Ron's life will be held in Napa, California. Final arrangements were by the Anderson Funeral Home of Crozet, Va.