Ronald Ogan

Ronald (Ron) Lyle Ogan reached the end of his earthly life May 24, 2020.  He was born in Marshalltown, grew up in Poweshiek County, and graduated from Montezuma High School in 1948.  He farmed near his parents, Ralph Wilbur and Alma Louetta (Eash) Ogan, before serving in the Army during the Korean War.  His two siblings, Ralph Ogan Jr. and Shirley Ogan Lemke, preceded him in death as did Shirley’s husband Ralph Lemke.  He was also preceded in death by his parents, Virginia’s parents, Carmon and Hazel Johnson.

After the war he returned to Montezuma then attended AIB in Des Moines then went to work for Burroughs Corporation.  He and Virginia Ann Johnson were married in their hometown of Montezuma on October 10, 1959.  Ron was transferred to Burroughs’ Chariton territory and shortly thereafter they established their home in Osceola.  Their children Mark and Mindy were both born in Osceola.

Ron loved spending time with his family and friends.  He and Virginia enjoyed gardening together and hosting cookouts on their patio.  During a camping trip his family was introduced to boating and Ron learned to water ski at the age of 40.  He later earned his pilot’s license and enjoyed flying a single engine airplane.  He was involved in the Osceola United Methodist Church, Lions Club, Osceola Garden Club, Clarke Band Boosters, the local Planning & Zoning Commission, and Saturday morning Bible study with friends. One of his life highlights was introducing grandsons Nathan and Matthew to the finer points of eating grapes and berries off the vine in his garden.

During his lifetime Ron established several small businesses;  Office Services, Wick Homes, and the Junction Creamery.  He later transferred his skills in office equipment repair to work for Des Moines Public Schools.  He enjoyed driving a school bus for Clarke Community Schools and entertaining the students seasonally with his Santa Claus disguise.  Ron always enjoyed working with his hands and was delighted to be general contractor for the family’s Wick home north of Osceola.

Ron is survived by his wife Virginia of Osceola; son Mark and daughter Mindy, both of Tulsa, OK; grandchildren Nathan of Oklahoma City, and Matthew & wife Carly of Columbia, MO; their mother Nanci of Tulsa, OK; and foreign exchange daughter Johanna Vaananen (Markku) of Helsinki, Finland.  In addition to many cousins and the large extended families of his deceased brother and sister, including sister-in-law Lois Ogan of Grinnell, he leaves many memories with the Johnson side of the family, including in-laws Jim & Nancy Ferguson of Overland Park, KS, Dan & Sara Gillaspie of Enid, OK, and their extended families.

After several years of battling dementia, Ron became a resident at Azria Health Winterset in 2018 where he lived until his death from natural causes.  His family plans to have a celebration of life service when more family and friends are able to attend .  At Ron’s request memorial gifts can be sent to Eastern Iowa Honor Flight at eihonorflight.org or P.O. Box 10704, Cedar Rapids, IA 52410.

Memorial services will be held at a later date.