Donald M Ranta Jr

Donald M. Ranta Jr, April 11, 1960 - October 24, 2023

Donald M. Ranta Jr, of Catonsville, MD, was diagnosed with a brain tumor in October 2022. He passed peacefully, surrounded by family, on October 24, 2023. He was 63. A memorial service in his honor was held on November 2, 2023 at Grace Community Church in Fulton, MD. A month before he passed, he gave his life to Jesus Christ and was baptized by his former wife, Monica, with whom he remained friends.

Don was kind and thoughtful and always curious about the World. He was very intelligent, but among his best personality traits was his high EQ, his "Emotional Quotient." Because of this, he easily made fast friends, was well liked, and excelled in anything involving human interaction. He lived a full and happy life and loved to ski, sail, and share a good laugh during stories and jokes. Throughout his life, he continued his passion for Art. He was very knowledgeable about art history and painting, but was especially fond of pottery. He maintained his own pottery studio, which he used frequently. Some of his last words of wisdom, shared with a close friend, "If there is something you want to do, do it today, because you just don't know what tomorrow will bring." Don lived well, and died well. The World is better because Don was in it.

Don and his sisters grew up as children of an Air Force Officer. Don graduated from Peru Central High School (near Plattsburgh, NY) in 1978, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in photography and art from Plattsburgh State University in 1982.

Don entered the NY State Police Academy April 4,1983 (Academy Class 153). He held numerous and varying assignments throughout New York State. As a trooper, he initially worked in Troop C, out of the Richfield Springs station, then Troop G at the Chesterfield station, then worked in Troop D (Oneida). Don also served on the Governor's Protective Services Unit in Albany. In 1986, Don left the State Police to become a stock broker. After only 4 months, he became disillusioned with the ethics of the industry and returned to the State Police where he was assigned to Troop G.

In 1989, Don was promoted to the Bureau of Criminal Investigation as a BCI Investigator, where he initially worked on the Governor's Protective Services Unit. In 1991 he was reassigned to Drug Enforcement Task Force (DETF) in NYC where he worked for 3 years. In 1994, he was assigned to the Community Narcotics Enforcement Team (CNET) in Albany, where he worked for 7 years. In 2001, after pursuing various national advanced level computer certifications, investigating computer related crimes and demonstrating great aptitude with the Y2K initiative (in which there was great uncertainty in the World, because most computers in existence were not programmed properly for the millennial date change), Don was assigned to the State Police's newly created Computer Crimes Unit (CCU), where he served until his retirement on November 19, 2003.

After a 20-year career with the NY State Police, during which he received a number of letters of commendation and appreciation, Don moved to Maryland with his family, where he worked as a computer forensic lab manager, instructor and subject matter expert in defense cyber investigations. His most recent work was as a computer security analyst at the Software Engineering Institute of Carnegie Mellon University.

Don is survived by his three daughters, Maija Ranta Pulliam (Dillon) of Dallas, TX, Camilla Ranta and Olivia Ranta, both of Ellicott City, MD; his former wife and mother of his daughters, Monica Ranta (married from 1996-2012); His parents, Donald M. Ranta Sr and Phyllis Ranta, of Rome, NY; and his five sisters, Pamela Hughes (Tom), of Ohio, Cynthia Ranta and Melissa Ranta of NY, Robin Ranta of Tennessee, and Deborah Hensley of Florida.

Donations in Don's memory can be made to the Glioblastoma Foundation, which does research on the type of cancerous brain tumor that took Don from this world. https://fundraise.glioblastomafoundation.org/give/317137/#!/donation/checkout