Ronald P. Babcock

Ronald Pringle Babcock of Sarasota, Florida, passed away peacefully on Monday, November 14, 2016 at the age of 80. He was born on January 22, 1936 in Tuxedo Park, New York. Ron was the youngest son of the late Walter and Emily Babcock and brother to the late Walter Babcock, Jr. He graduated from Suffern High School in 1953, where he played basketball and served as the president of the National Honor Society. Ron took great pride in serving in the United States Army as a tank driver and gunner. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1958, where he was the drummer in the Notre Dame marching band. Professionally, Ron worked as the chief financial officer for Thomas and Betts Corporation. Ron raised six children, Karen, Nancy, Robert, William, Joseph and Michael with his late wife of 35 years, Barbara Ann. Barbara passed away in 1996 from brain cancer. The love they shared was very special, and their children still benefit from the example they set as a married couple. He began the next chapter of life with his wife Maureen, widowed mother of six from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. They lead a very adventurous life travelling to the earth's most beautiful places, including the African Savanna, the Australian Outback, and Ron's favorite, the Irish countryside. Ron enjoyed golf, tennis, fishing, boating, and was a talented musician. Ron found great joy in the simple pleasures of life, like watching wildlife in the yard or feeling a strong fish bite the hook. He looked forward to every Notre Dame football game and could never pass up a root beer float. He brought great joy to those around him with his music. Ron was the drummer for the "GODD Squad", a travelling band whose ministry is to play the "Golden Oldies" to lift the spirits of nursing home residents in Sarasota. His smile was contagious, his heart generous, and his mind notoriously sharp. His character can be summed up in the "Peace Prayer to Saint Francis", a prayer that hung in every kitchen of every home he ever lived. Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen. Funeral mass will be held on Saturday, December 3 at 9:30 am at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 2506 Gulf Gate Dr, Sarasota, FL 34231, followed by a reception at Bay Village, 8400 Vamo Road, Sarasota, FL 34231. Memorial donations may be made in Ronald's name to Alzheimer's Association Florida Gulf Coast Chapter, 14010 Roosevelt Blvd. #709, Clearwater, FL, 33762.

Tributes

Ronald P. Babcock

January 22, 1936 - November 14, 2016