Ronald L. Mortenson
Mar. 22, 1936 ~ July 22, 2023
Ronald Lee Mortenson, 87, of Meeker, Colorado, passed away on Saturday, July 22, 2023, at Grand River Health Care Center in Rifle, Colorado.
Ronald Lee Mortenson was born May 22, 1936, in Wausau, Wisconsin, the son of Louis and Ruth (Palesch) Mortenson. He was raised in Wausau and graduated from high school there in 1954. After high school, Ron joined the U.S. Army in 1954 and served at Ft. Bliss in El Paso, Texas, in the electronics training program and then spent one month overseas in Germany. Ron was honorably discharged on June 5, 1956, and then attended college in Madison, Wisconsin. While living in Madison he took an exam from IBM and was offered a job with the company. Ron began his working career with IBM where he was given computer training. After his training he worked as a field engineer and would later become a computer programmer.
On Feb. 16, 1959, Ron was joined in marriage to Ann Marilyn Taylor in Madison, Wisconsin. They were blessed with four children: Kathy, Sara, Ron and Tim. While working for IBM, Ron would live in Poughkeepsie, New York; Kansas City, Missouri; and Cary, Illinois. While living in Illinois, the family lived on a hobby farm where Ron cared for horses and had a huge vegetable garden. Ron moved onto working with Control Data where he continued computer programming. This work brought him to Spring Park, Minnesota, and then La Selva Beach, California. In 1979, Ron took a job with Amdahl in the Silicon Valley of California. He would work in California until moving to Longmont, Colorado where he worked with Seagate until his retirement.
Ron moved to Meeker, Colorado, where he would enjoy hunting and fishing in his retirement. He was a member of the White River Methodist Church in Meeker. Some of his favorite hobbies throughout his life were his HAM radio, tinkering with sports cars, jewelry making and taxidermy. Ron also loved to travel and had excursions to Germany, France, China and Australia. While traveling he would enjoy trying new foods and seeing new things.
Ron is survived by his daughter, Sara (Mark) Willis of Apple Valley, Minnesota; three grandchildren, Daniel Willis, Tammy (Robert) Luebbert, and Bethany May; siblings, Charles “Chuck” Mortenson, Lois (Cary) Cole, Clark (Barb) Mortenson, Rita (Paul) Hawes; daughter-in-law, Carolyn Mortenson; sister-in-law, Lynda Summerall; second wife, Grace Tao Mortenson; third wife, Juan You Zhong; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
He was preceded in death by his parents; first wife, Ann; two sons, Ronald R. Mortenson, Timothy J. Mortenson; one daughter, Kathleen Marie Mortenson; grandson, Michael Merchant; sister, Joan Streeter; brothers, Louis J. Mortenson III and Terry Mortenson.
A celebration of life will be held for Ronald at 2 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 7, 2023, at the Spooner Funeral Home in Spooner, Wisconsin. Visitation will be from 1-2 p.m. on Monday at the funeral home. Interment will follow in the Anah Cemetery near Spooner, Wisconsin. Military honors will be accorded by the State of Wisconsin Military Funeral Honors Program.
A memorial service was held at the White River Methodist Church in Meeker, Colorado, on Wednesday, July 26, 2023.
Online condolences may be left for Ronald’s family at www.bratley-nelsonchapels.com.
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