Ronald Earl WYRICK

Ronald Earl Wyrick, age 80, went to be with the Lord on August 12, 2025, at his home in Spokane, Washington. He was a scientist, businessman, and inventor, and a beloved husband, father, father-in-law, and grandfather. Ron was born on November 4, 1944, in Kansas City, Missouri, to Earl and Mildred Wyrick, and grew up in Riverbank, California. There he married June Koetitz, his wife for 45 years until her death in 2012. Ron and June had four children and 15 grandchildren. Ron later married Bonnie Helzer, who was his constant companion during his last 7+ years of life. Ron was devoted to his family. While in California, Ron taught in school, served in the National Guard, and earned his PhD at UC Davis, where he discovered that a class of molecules known as lectins unexpectedly function to regulate conception in frog oocytes. After graduating, Ron moved his family to Spokane to work as a scientist at Hollister-Stier laboratories, eventually transitioning to the business side to become the president of the Hollister-Stier plant in Spokane and related units around the world. He later started his own biotech business out of his basement to develop a new epinephrine autoinjector. His invention continues to help many people across the country who experience a life-threatening allergic reaction. Ron was an avid outdoorsman and would regale his children and later his grandchildren with vivid stories of hunting, fishing, and camping in northern California, Oregon, and Washington. Ron taught himself to play the banjo and mandolin and loved to play bluegrass music with his family. In his spare time, he enjoyed driving sports cars, tinkering with and improving the sound of banjos and other instruments, and making arrows and his own fishing lures, which were highly prized. His life was characterized by his realistic optimism, care for others, especially his family, willingness to take risks, pursuit of excellence, creativity, sincerity, generosity, responsibility, humor, and faith. He is dearly loved and greatly missed. Ron was preceded in death by his parents, his wife June, and his brother Al Wyrick. He is survived by his wife Bonnie and her family, his four children (John, Jared, Jeff, and Jill), four children-in-law (Gretchen, Shelly, Laurie, and Ben), and 15 grandchildren (Laina, Ronen, Josephine, Maggie, Charlotte, Matthew, Melody, Micah, Joshua, Luke, Henry, Judah, Mary, Alana, and Hannah). Viewing will be held from 11:30-12 pm Sunday, August 24th at Hennessey funeral home in Spokane with the funeral service immediately following at 12 pm. Please visit Ron's on-line memorial at www.hennesseyfh.com