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Ronald Leroy Werneke February 26, 1962 – December 18, 2024
February 26, 1962, was a crisp day in Oklahoma City when a small baby boy was born. His parents Leo and Aliene, his grandparents Leo and Mae Werneke, and Aunt Jennifer, along with maternal grandparents Doug and Essie Liles were beyond thrilled by his arrival. A little over a year later, Ron’s sister Michelann joined the young family. As you have seen in your own time with him or will learn today; Ron grew to be a great man over the next 62 years. Ron always loved to say, “I’m Sooner born and Sooner bred, and when I die, I’ll be Sooner dead.”
Preceded in death: Grandfather Leo Antry Werneke; Grandmother Mae Werneke; Grandfather Douglas Liles, Grandmother Essie Liles; Naomi Ruth Adams, mother-in-law; Robert Wherry, step-father.
Left to mourn: Vicki Adams Werneke, wife; Sara Werneke, daughter; Peter (Caitlin) Werneke, son; Leo Gene (Nancy) Werneke, father; Aliene Wherry (mother); Jennifer (Steve) Watson, aunt; Michelann Werneke (David) Ooten, sister.
While growing up in Oklahoma City’s Linwood neighborhood, Ron attended Kaiser Elementary School, Taft Junior High School, and Northwest Classen High School -making friends with David Ooten, Raif Schwortz, and Mike Willson along the way. Ron was active with the Linwood United Methodist youth group and still spoke fondly of director Bob Cross and the hiking trip to Colorado with all the preparation required. Ron was proud member of the Law Enforcement Explorers Group, learning surveillance work in Sheppard Mall and helping families separated at the State Fair. Many of Ron’s favorite childhood memories where from the field of play, as he was coached by his own father on numerous teams. Ron was quiet the capable young athlete.
Ron’s affinity for sports was broad and deep, but not too deep, because it honestly didn’t matter who was playing- just so long as the game was fair and on. As a young boy he played YMCA baseball with the Kaiser Kangaroos and Central Redwings. He also played 4 years of little league football with the NW Optimist League across multiple teams, where he had the chance to play under his father’s defensive co-ordination and was proudly named All-American Boy. Although his time on the field as a player was wrapped before high school Ron’s involvement was near constant, as he began umpiring little league baseball as a young man- maintaining a respect for healthy competition he eventually passed to his children.
The Werneke family lived in Scotland for a year while Ron’s father pursued his doctorate. Unlike his little sister, Ron embraced the experience and enjoyed the new opportunities. The kids there were fascinated by the family’s accent and Ron quickly made friends who gave him the nickname “Oklahoma.” Ron was always thrilled to relive his Scotland stories, even the time he broke his wrist trying to play cricket. When Grandma and Grandpa Liles visited, Ron went to a golf tournament with Grandpa Liles at St. Andrew’s golf course, where they also got a round in before tournament play began. The family returned to Oklahoma City and Ron graduated in 1980 with his high school friends.
Despite beginning his higher education at Central State Ron spent most of his early adulthood at Oklahoma City University where his father was working as a professor. At OCU Ron studied in multiple fields across campus, including a memorable time in the theater’s tech department during which he worked as the curtain flyman and sewed a sequin bra of notable size. While at OCU Ron joined the brotherhood of Lambda Chi Alpha where he met lifelong friends like Paul Boyer, Chris Morrison, and Rick Mattoni. The first year on campus at the Lambda Chi Alpha house would be where Ron would meet the most important person in his life -Vicki, a first-year student, fresh from a move from North Dakota.
The day they met September 18, 1982, Vicki was babysitting her two nephews, Joshua age 5 and Jake age 2. With a couple of girlfriends, Vicki took the boys to the Lambda Chi frat house where they played in the basement with the pool tables. Jake laid down on the floor to take a little nap. Ron walked into the room and went directly to Jake picking him up and asking who he was. Vicki was right there, and she said, “he’s my nephew and I’m babysitting.” Ron introduced himself. Vicki planned to go to her mother’s townhouse with the boys for the night and had invited a few friends over to go swimming and hang out and Ron accepted Vicki’s invitation to join.
From that night forward, Ron and Vicki were a couple, the start of a brand-new team. Within a week, he told Vicki he loved her- in a McDonald’s. And just five months later, in February of 1983, Ron proposed on the steps of the Bishop Angie Smith Chapel on the campus of OCU and the pair chose rings together. They would come together in marriage as their time at OCU was ending. They married March 8, 1986 - at the First Congregational Church, in McPherson, Kansas with Vicki’s father Rev. Mendle Adams and Ron’s uncle Rev. Richard Liles as co-officiants.
Before they married, Ron took drafting classes at Oklahoma City Community College. Ron’s penmanship was always precise and neat, a trait he attributed to his father. His strength in mathematics paired with this training helped him secure a job at the Oklahoma Department of Transportation as a Transportation Specialist where he drew bridge plans by hand for 11 years; working under Squad Boss and close friend Bruce Fraker -with whom Ron enjoyed countless fishing trips and holiday cookouts.
Ron was Vicki’s anchor and strength when she attended the University of Oklahoma College of Law. Their daughter Sara was born January 26, 1988, in the middle of Vicki’s second year of law school. Right after she was born, Ron called her Honey Baby and it stuck. When Vicki had to return to classes, Ron took his parental leave. He would bring Sara to the law school so Vicki could breastfeed her. When Vicki needed to study in the evenings, he would take care of Sara.
Peter Werneke was born January 29, 1991, just missing Sara’s third birthday by three days. Ron was proud of Peter from the start, which was on clear and full display a few months later for the first Four Generations photo with the men that helped raise him. Ron looked forward to showing Peter -and his sister- all the things he enjoyed as a boy, including fishing, exploring nature and stories of science fiction and fantasy. Ron loved being a dad and he was incredibly active in Sara and Peter’s childhoods.
He coached soccer teams, t-ball, and baseball- leading largely the same group of kids in both seasons year after year. Ron was recognized as Ione YWCA Volunteer of the Year. In 1997, with the children 9 and 6, Ron decided to leave his job with ODOT to be a stay-at-home dad and continue his educational pursuits. They did very little of staying at home, the kids could have drawn the banks of Lake Hefner from the many Whataburger lunches on the dam road and learned the habits of specific zoo animals from the trio’s routine visits. Ron was Peter’s Cub Master for the scouting troop out of Ralph Downs Elementary. He was Cookie Chair for several years with Sara’s Girl Scout Troop -which isn’t as sweet a gig as it sounds. He was a chaperone for many adventures with Sara and Peter with school, scouts, and church youth groups.
As his children aged out of teams and leagues, Ron kept himself active and involved as a line judge for many seasons with the OSSAA. There are a few receivers who are surely still telling their families about the nearly 275-pound referee keeping pace with them to the endzone. Ron proudly called football games for schools across Oklahoma and remained Vicki’s personal NFL and Collegiate rules consultant- often answering her questions before the TV commentator could offered their echo. Ron was also a prolific bowler, having participated with his grandaddy in league play as a young man, and being named The Most Likely to Damage the Pins as a member of the Mayflower Congregational Church Holy Rollers.
Ron joined Vicki as a member of the Mayflower Congregational Church around 1992 and soon wove his way into the church fabric. Eventually Ron found more and more of his time devoted to the support and maintenance of the church grounds and its people. By 1995 Ron was employed as Mayflower’s sexton and he loved having personal relationships with each of the church ladies that helped keep the ship afloat. He followed Vicki to Cleveland, Ohio in 2009 but even then, he could still be counted on to have the answer to many the buildings idiosyncrasies.
While in Cleveland Ron completed and maintained his credentials as an armed security specialist with the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office, where he worked for nearly 7 years. He also tried to keep himself busy with the professional sports teams of Cleveland and embrace the history and harsh reality of Browns fandom. Ron enjoyed attending musicals and plays in Cleveland’s theater district and touring the new city with Vicki, taking inspiration for their next seasonal light display or Halloween party. This time in Cleveland allowed Ron to reconnect and strengthen bonds with Vicki’s family spending time with their next generations and ensuring the legend of Uncle Ron lives on. It was also in Cleveland when Ron rekindled his undying love for model trains. They had always been in his life, but the priorities of fatherhood had left his heirlooms to collect dust. No longer on the back burner his train board became a true point of pride, mixing pieces old and new to make something that was uniquely Ron.
With Ron’s health in decline over the last few years the pair returned home in 2022 and was lucky enough to spend time with Ron’s adult nephews and their young children. Since their return Ron and Vicki have been regulars of a weekly trivia night hosted by Peter and his wife Caitlin, proving once again to be part of a competitive team. Ron and Vicki enjoyed the time they got to spend visiting his father and step-mother, talking about the plans for Leo’s garden and relishing the harvests. Ron appreciated the time his mother gave to him, with rides to and from medical appointments, lunch runs, and sweet chats on the way. Ron easily made friends with his visiting nurses and the dialysis center care teams.
In lieu of flowers the family encourages donations to Cleats for Kids, a local non-profit organization working to supply under-served communities in Oklahoma City with sports equipment.
Ron’s family extends their gratitude to the health care professionals and providers who had helped care for him over the last several years and the support they offered.
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