Ronald Eugene Wist

Ronald Eugene Wist was born in Bowie, Colorado, on May 25, 1937. He was raised by his mother, Viola Wist, until her death following a tragic car accident in 1943 when Ron was just six years old. Following his mother’s death, Ron was raised by his grandmother, Mary Wist, and his uncle, Eugene Wist. As a child, Ron worked on his family farm and ranch in Bowie. He learned to skate at an early age and in the winters enjoyed playing hockey when the river froze.

Ron’s family were immigrants from Helsinki, Finland. Until he started school, he spoke only the Finnish language. Ron attended the first eight years of school at the Bowie School. This is the same one-room schoolhouse that was eventually moved to Paonia and is now a museum. There is a desk in that schoolhouse that Ron carved his name in.

After school in Bowie, Ron attended Paonia High School where he acquired his life-long nickname, Tweed, and graduated in 1955. Ron was crowned Red and Black Day King as a senior. Most importantly, Ron began dating the love of his life, Frankye Brezonick, in the spring of 1955. Their first date was the wrestling team banquet. Frankye’s brother, Jim, played matchmaker. Jim told Frankye that one of his friends was going to ask her out – and that he was a nice guy and that she needed to say yes. It began a romance that lasted for over 70 years. Ron and Frankye were married on June 11, 1957, in Paonia.

After graduation from high school, Ron entered the United States Air Force. In his initial four years of service, which took him from Oakland, California to Amarillo, Texas to Little Rock, Arkansas, Ron achieved the rank of Airman First Class and worked as a jet mechanic and crew chief. He worked on B-52 bombers and KC-135 tanker aircraft. When Ron left the Air Force in 1959, he returned to the North Fork Valley and worked in ranching and ultimately accepted a position with Bud King Construction Company. During that stretch, Ron helped construct the Paonia and Crawford Reservoirs. Ron and Frankye welcomed their first son, Kregg Allen, who was born in Delta, Colorado, on August 19, 1960. When Bud King Construction left Colorado to return to Missoula Montana, Ron had the opportunity to relocate there because of his skill in operating heavy equipment. But Ron chose to stay in Colorado. Shortly thereafter, Ron was recalled into the United States Air Force in April 1962, when Ron and Frankye relocated to Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth, Texas. Son #2, Cole Alex, was born later that year on December 14, 1962, in Fort Worth.

During his second tour with the Air Force, Ron served his country in the Vietnam War. On one of his missions, Ron’s aircraft was shot down but successfully made a landing in Da Nang, Vietnam. Ron and Frankye lived in Fort Worth until 1965, when Ron was transferred to Walker Air Force Base in Roswell, New Mexico. Ron was honorably discharged from the Air Force in April 1966. At the time of his discharge, Ron had achieved the rank of Staff Seargent. Ron might have made a career in the Air Force (not Frankye’s first choice), but Ron and Frankye and their two sons made the decision to leave military life behind and returned to Paonia in April 1966.

Later in 1966, Ron began what would be a nearly 35-year career in the coal mining industry. He worked for US Steel’s mine in Somerset, the Colorado Westmoreland’s (later Cyprus) Orchard Valley Mine, and Bowie Resources in Bowie. Starting off his mining career as a straight graveyard equipment greaser, Ron worked his way up to senior management and when he retired, served as maintenance superintendent. Ron was widely respected by co-workers for his work ethic, integrity, loyalty and commitment to safety and excellence.

Ron and Frankye welcomed two more sons to their family. Ronald James (R.J.), born on March 1, 1968, in Delta, and Franklyn Eugene, also born in Delta, on August 26, 1972. Tragically, Franklyn died in May 1973.

Even though Ron worked extremely hard to support his family, he always found time to serve others in his community. All of Ron’s sons were Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts and Ron served as Scoutmaster for Troop 477 for many years. One of his many accomplishments as a Scoutmaster was having five of his scouts, including his son, R.J., achieve the rank of Eagle Scout. One of his other proud days in scouting was having one of his Pinewood Derby cars finally win that elusive championship. Ron was a strong believer in the values and principles of Scouting and worked hard to instill those values in the young men that he mentored.

Ron’s love of baseball took him from proud parent, to coach, to state commissioner, and finally to being inducted in the Babe Ruth Baseball Hall of Fame. Ron loved the game and committed many hours at the batting cage working with players of all ages to become outstanding hitters. He is known throughout the state and region as a person who was committed to youth baseball and is fondly remembered by many players for his mentoring, coaching, support, and positive attitude. Every player that played on a Ron Wist team knew they were expected to always work hard and always show good sportsmanship. Ron spent countless hours maintaining North Fork baseball fields and worked hard to make sure that young athletes had access to good facilities. He was a founding Board member of Paonia’s Volunteer Park.

After years of building their lives on Paonia’s Grand Avenue, Ron achieved a lifelong dream of owning a house with land when he and Frankye moved to their current home on Price Road outside of Paonia in 1992. Ron loved his horses, farming his fields, irrigating, hauling hay, and at the end of the day, sitting on his back deck appreciating the beauty of the North Fork Valley. Raised as a farming and ranching boy in Bowie, Ron stayed true to his roots his entire life.

Ron loved to hunt and some of his most cherished moments were at elk season hunting camp with his sons, grandsons, and lifelong friends. He was happy and relaxed in the saddle, riding the trails, and plotting hunting strategy. And he was a pretty darn good marksman. No elk was safe in Ron Wist’s sights.

Ron was a man of deep faith. Shortly before marrying Frankye in 1957, Ron joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and during his life served the Paonia Ward in several capacities, including as a member of the Bishopric, Ward Financial Clerk, and as a counselor in the High Priest Group. Ron was sealed to his family in the Manti Temple.

Ron’s greatest achievement and his top priority was always his family. Because he had grown up in challenging circumstances, Ron always took great pride in the legacy he would leave behind in his children, grandchildren and beyond. Ron took the Wist name to great heights and his family carries that forward proudly and with full credit to the patriarch of our family that we honor today.

Ron passed away at his home on Monday, June 16, 2025. As she had been for 70 years, Frankye was by his side.

Ron is survived by his wife, Frankye, his sons, Kregg, Cole, and R.J., eight grandchildren, seven great grandchildren, and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and extended family.

Ron Wist was a giant. We will miss him greatly. And we celebrate all he lived for, stood for, and in his honor, we put our shoulder to the wheel and push along.