Ronald John "Ron" Rains

1942 - 2022

On Jan. 21, 2022, Ronald Rains unexpectedly died due to heart failure at the age of 79. Ronald John "Ron" Rains was born July 6, 1942, in Taft, California. He briefly lived in Texas and at age 4 moved to the place he called home North Platte. Ron was adopted and raised by his grandmother, Betty, and her husband, Joe Smith. As a young boy, Ron always loved the farm, especially his chickens. He was a hard worker on the farm and kept that strong work ethic throughout his life. He also worked at the family bowling alley and enjoyed fixing anything that needed fixing. Throughout his life, Ron was a jack-of-all-trades and could always be counted on to repair what was broken, often using "spare parts" he had laying around the house. Ron met his wife, Cheryl Hiltabidel, in high school and they were married on June 23, 1963. He worked for Western Electric until being drafted by the U.S. Marines in 1966 and sent to Vietnam. Ron proudly served as a U.S. Marine in Vietnam until 1968 and then served in the reserves for two years after that. While in Vietnam, Ron was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 26th Marines, Hotel Company. He was an infantry squad leader and completed 17 operations in 13 months. The 26th Marine Hotel Company service years 1966-70 have a reunion every 2 years, and Ron loved going to see his Marine brothers. Once a Marine, always a Marine. Semper Fi! After returning home from Vietnam, he went back to work at Western Electric. In 1969, Ron and Cheryl had their first daughter, Angela, and in 1972 their second daughter, Stephanie, was born. Ron continued working for Western Electric until 1983 when he was transferred to Colorado to work for Mountain Bell Telephone. He worked for various telecommunications companies, even after his first retirement from US West, and recently announced he was planning to retire for good. Ron was always ornery and truly a kid at heart, which was apt considering he was always a kid magnet. All kids loved him and were drawn to him. He teased everyone and was very playful with little kids and adult kids just the same. He had the same magnetic effect on animals. He was an animal whisperer and there was never a pet dog, cat, bird, rabbit, chicken that didn't love him. Ron was a beloved husband, father, papa, great-papa, uncle, brother and friend. He is loved, missed and remembered by all who were fortunate enough to know him. Ron was preceded in death by his parents, Betty and Joe Smith; siblings, Art Searcy, Ray Smith, Dayton Smith, LeRoy Smith and Scott Smith; and his granddaughter, Kenna Quinn. He is survived by his wife, Cheryl Rains; daughters, Angela (Lorr) Quinn, Stephanie (Ryan) Ross and Grace (Shawn) Helgeson; grandchildren, Ashley (Austin) Velasquez, Andrew Ross, Alexander Ross, Conor Quinn, Christina Helgeson and Steven Helgeson; great-grandson, Bradley Velasquez; his siblings, Bonnie Jo Leonhardt and George "Bill" Smith; and numerous loved cousins, nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Thompson FFA Kenna Fund (via Angela), Riverdale Animal Shelter in Thornton or a charity of your choice. Online condolences may be shared at odeanchapel.com. A memorial service for Ron will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 29, at St. John Lutheran Church, 11040 Colorado Blvd., Thornton, Colorado. For those unable to attend, the service will be livestreamed on the church website at stjohnsthornton.org, click on Watch Here Live. Burial with military honors will be at 10 a.m. Monday, Jan. 31, at Fort McPherson National Cemetery, near Maxwell. A reception will follow at 11 a.m. at the First Evangelical Lutheran Church. Odean Colonial Chapel at C & Sycamore is in charge of local arrangements.