Ronald Thomas Miscavige

WEST ALLIS, Wis. - Ronald Thomas Miscavige, 85, of West Allis, Wisconsin, died Monday, June 28, 2021.

Ron was raised in Mount Carmel, and imbued with the hardiness of people in the coal country, as well as their humor. As he told it, Mount Carmel was like little Europe. Ron himself was Polish, but his neighbors were Slovaks, Irish, Italians, Germans and a host of other ethnicities.

He and his boyhood friends occasionally got into some mischief, such as the time they dragged five gallons of gasoline up to an abandoned coal hole and lit it off with the ferocity of a 747 engine, singeing their eyebrows in the process.

He wrote a couple of humorous books about his days in Mount Carmel, one called "True Confessions of a Kid" and the other titled "Hideouts for Midgets on the Lam." They are filled with memories from those days.

Ron discovered music as a youngster. His father, Anthony, could play any number of instruments and had a band that rehearsed in the family living room. He began on the trumpet and kept it up until the end of his days. Ron started playing professional gigs in bars in the Mount Carmel area at the age of 13.

He attended Mount Carmel High School and remained friends with many of his Mount Carmel Area friends from that time.

Ron joined the U.S. Marine Corps after high school and after boot camp he said he could now make himself do anything because boot camp was so tough. He wound up in the Marine Corps band and spent the last year and a half in the Corps studying music theory and harmony. He used what he learned in the Marines the rest of his life.

He was extremely proud of his Marine Corps career and grateful for the care he received from the Veterans Administration.

Ron's first marriage to Loretta Gidaro (also from the Mount Carmel area) eventually foundered, but the marriage did result in four children who survive him - Ronnie, the twins, David and Denise, and the youngest daughter, Lori - all of whom he loved deeply.

Luckily for Ron, he later married a woman named Becky Bigelow, whose father was a racing legend around Wisconsin, and even raced in the Indy 500 several times. His second marriage was wonderful and he loved Becky with all his heart and soul; she was close by his side constantly until he passed.

Ron is also survived by many grandchildren, nieces and nephews, many of whom he remained in close touch with through the later years of his life.

Much of Ron's adult life was involved with the Church of Scientology. He was introduced to it in 1969, and thereafter spent years doing courses and Scientology counseling. In 1985, he became staff in the Church of Scientology. His musical background led him into the music department, composing and playing the trumpet for films and events.

In 2021, he left Scientology and later published a book about his experiences in the organization called "Ruthless: Scientology, My Son David Miscavige, and Me," which became a New York Times bestseller.

Ron spent much of his remaining years exposing the darker aspects of Scientology in a series of interview videos on YouTube called "Life After Scientology." He was not shy about aspects of it that he abhorred, most specifically, the church's policy of shunning or disconnecting from people who speak out about the church.

He also created a series of lighter YouTube videos called "Life Lessons" and "Story Time." He always did it with the humor learned from his Mount Carmel upbringing.

In his later years, he also enjoyed many good times with friends, cruises with family and playing music gigs at every possible opportunity.

Ron was preceded in death by his father, Anthony V. Miscavige Sr.; his mother, Helen (Sufalko) Miscavige; a brother, Anthony V. "Red" Miscavige Jr.; and three sisters, Elsie Slavinski, Carol Miscavige and Marcia Miscavige.

Ron Miscavige lived a good, long life and will be missed by many.