Ronald L. Soble

1936 - 2021

March 24, 1936 - June 20, 2021 Ronald ("Ron") Soble, a career journalist who spent over two decades as a Los Angeles Times reporter, died on June 20, 2021, at U.C. Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. Soble was 85 years-old. Born on March 24, 1936, Soble was a two-time past recipient of the prestigious Gerald Loeb Award for distinguished business and financial journalism and also was a past co-recipient of a National News Emmy Award. During Ron's final week, his blood pressure dropped extremely low, ultimately leading to his heart stopping. Ron had spent the last three years of his life frequently battling swallowing difficulties connected to Alzheimer's disease and a 2016 stroke, making Ron highly susceptible to aspiration pneumonia. In 1957, Soble graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism. In 1962, Soble received a master's degree in communication from Stanford University. In addition to serving as a longtime reporter for the LA Times, during his career, Soble was also a reporter or editor for various other newspapers and wire services. He spent most of his career covering general news, politics, finance and law.In 1978, LA Times reporters Soble, Paul Steiger, Robert Rosenblatt, Murray Seeger and Sam Jameson shared the Gerald Loeb Award for their series "The Dollar: Its History and Current Woes".In 1984, LA Times reporters Soble and Al Delugatch received the Gerald Loeb Award for Spot News, for their investigation of former Los Angeles gold trader Alan Saxon.In 1997, Soble was a co-recipient of the National News Emmy Award for Outstanding Coverage of a Continuing News Story for a Frontline report on cheap guns.Soble authored or co-authored several books including "Blood Brothers: The Inside Story of the Menendez Murders," (Onyx, 1995); "Whatever Became of Free Enterprise?" (Signet, 1977), "The Impossible Dream: The Equity Funding Story, The Fraud of the Century" (Putnam, 1975), and "Smart Money in Hard Times: A Guide to Inflation-Proof Investments" (McGraw-Hill, 1975). Ron is survived by his wife Anne, son Mark, and grandson Matthew. Ron and Anne lived in Malibu for almost forty years, but after both began having serious health issues in 2013, they moved to Sacramento to be closer to their son. Ron is also survived by his sister Susan in Florida.Soble was a life-long baseball fan. Originally born in Chicago, Soble rooted for his favorite team, the Cubs. Ron loved watching baseball with his son Mark, who works in Sacramento as a state administrative law judge. Soble greatly enjoyed all types of jazz music, especially Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Benny Goodman and Diana Krall. Ron was known for doting on his cat "Taos" and his parrot "Doc".