Ronald Ray "Ronnie" Dey

1939 - 2024

Ronald "Ronnie" Ray Dey

Ronald "Ronnie" Ray Dey passed away on November 20, 2024, at the age of 85. Ronnie was born in May of 1939 in Osceola, NE, to his parents, Gold and Ethel as the second of three children. He grew up on a farm on the rural outskirts of Gresham, NE, where he attended Hackberry Country School gaining knowledge of agriculture and discovered the love of working with his hands. As a young adult, he started his lifetime career at 17, which lasted for 40 years at the CO-OP in Shelby, NE, and passionately worked through tornadoes, drought and the worst Mother Nature had to offer, eventually working his way up to assistant manager under a great friend named Lefty.

Ronnie met his wife Delilah when they were kids at school. They have and will always have known and loved each other longer than not in their life. They married in 1958, and went on to have three children. He and Delilah retired to Georgetown, TX, in 2008. Ronnie was a member of the St. Peter's Lutheran Church, and the Eagles #378 in Grand Island, NE. He loved working and fixing things, driving, teasing his grandchildren, taking them on boat rides at the cabin, good conversation, telling stories and snacking on peanuts. He was very passionate about hard work and valued spending time in the workshop and on his tractor.

Ronnie was preceded in death by his mother; father; brother Vernon (Margaret); sister Joyce; brother in law Dennis; brother in law Don; son in law Brian; and niece Susan Hankel.

He is survived by his wife, Delilah; their children: Donna and Bob, Dotty and Eric, Russell and Karen; his grandchildren: Shawn and Monica, John, Joe and Megan, Kyle and Kyla, Mackenzie, Ashley, and Sydney, Zach, Tanner, Katie, and Megan; and great-grandchildren: Jack and Danica, Tab, Damien and Rachel, and Nova and Javelin.

Funeral services are scheduled for 10 a.m., Saturday, November 30, 2024, at Metz Chapel in York. Burial will follow at Cedar Lawn Cemetery in Gresham, NE. Visitation will be held from 1 to 8 p.m., on Friday, November 29th, with family greeting friends from 1 to 3 p.m., that afternoon at the mortuary.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the American Cancer Society or to York Adopt-A-Pet. Condolences may be left for the family at metzmortuary.com. Metz Mortuary in York is handling arrangements.