Ronald Robert Cassimore, Sr. (Ron), age 63 of Chesapeake, VA, lost his battle with metastasized bladder cancer on December 2, 2023 at home surrounded by beloved family, Susan (Sue) his wife, Amanda his daughter and Ronald Jr.

Ronald was born in a small town called Newton, NJ where he spent his young life living on a farm and then in town. He loved sharing his idyllic memories of the farm and about the adventures he had with his buddies around town. When he was a teen his family, his mother, Mary; his father, Bill Sr; his brothers, Bill Jr and Ricky; and his sister, Tammy moved to Hainesville, NJ, where he attended Sussex County Vocational High School, studying heavy equipment mechanics.

Ronald’s personality was larger than life itself. Standing tall with a big beard and longer hair, he had a charismatic presence that left a lasting impression on everyone he met. His quick wit and funny stories endeared him to all. Whether he was near or far, his name would echo through the halls, with people exclaiming, “Hey Ron!”  Like when he was at the Smithsonian in DC and a former coworker yelled out to him from across the lobby or across the country, in Oregon, when a waiter at a Chinese restaurant recognized him from a restaurant he ate at regularly in Virginia. Ron’s kindness knew no bounds, as he helped family, friends, coworkers, and even strangers without expecting anything in return. One snowy day in a gas station parking lot, he assisted an elderly couple in starting their truck. Afterward the man handed Ron a ticket for a free spiral ham, from the Country Ham Shop, as a token of their gratitude. He had a great sense of humor, whether it was telling a joke or a comical story of his life experiences.

Ron and Susan’s relationship was a true love story. They were destined to be together. They had attended the same grammar school, Merriam Avenue. Both their families moved to the same area when they were teens. They frequented the same parties and bars (he was even a bouncer at one).  But they never met each other until that fateful night at Ramble Inn.  The band was done, and the place was emptying out.  Sue was sitting talking to a friend and she heard someone say, “Why are you talking to him when you could be talking to me?”  When their eyes locked, they knew that this was something special. From that night on they were joined at the hip. You would rarely see one without the other.  They each had found their soulmate. Six months later Ron asked her to marry him and a year from then, on July 26th, 1980, they got married.  They made a promise to each other to, “Always have each other’s back, always keep each other happy, and never go to bed mad.” Ron and Sue complimented each other. He was a go with the flow kind of guy. She was a detail-oriented worrier. Together they balance each other out. They had many adventures over the years. They were yard sale junkies. Any state they found themselves in, they searched them out. Every year they would go to:  Route 15 100 Mile Yard Sale; US 21 Take A Break From the Interstate; Shenandoah Route 11 Yard Crawl; Hwy 29 100 Mile Yard Sale, all in VA. And we can’t forget “The World’s Longest Yard Sale” 690 miles spanning 6 states: Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama.

Ronald’s career began at the youthful age of 13 when he started working at the BP gas station pumping gas. After high school, he worked at Limestone Quarry as a heavy equipment mechanic and later operated the huge machines on which he had worked. Who knew that the operators were paid more than the ones who fixed the machines! From there he worked for John Walker Paving where he became good friends with the owner who taught him all the aspects of the paving business. In 1983 he moved his family to Norfolk, Virginia. There he continued to climb the ladder of success in the industrial field. A business on the water needed a welder. He did not have much experience welding but knew he needed to get a job to support his young family. He was very mechanically inclined so he knew he could figure it out quickly. In true Ron fashion he turned out to be a great welder. Ron welded on ship hulls above the water and under the water. Then he moved on to Winkleman Construction building conveyor belt systems that carried loose material from railroad cars to storage silos. From there he took a position at Liverman Construction, which provided services for businesses in a multitude of industrial environments. He excelled at Liverman taking on many positions: from hanging off the side of storage silos welding at Franklin Paper Mill to running cranes for loading and unloading ships from around the world at Elizabeth River Terminals. Because of his ability in problem solving, he was the go-to man for whatever needed to be done. He also worked at Southland Cork and Rubber Plant as a supervisor which was only 5 minutes away from home. Ron was tired of having icicles hanging off his beard and eyelashes in the winter and sweat soaking through his clothes in the summers. To remedy this, Ron took a position with a Japanese company, ARS Manufacturing. He worked here for many years. His responsibility was repairing and maintaining all the machines on the processing lines. He also added to his repertoire by collaborating with the company’s Master Electrician rewiring a whole warehouse. He loved when Mama Son would visit from Japan. She liked Ron and always brought a bottle of Saki to share with him. She called him Ron Son. He left ARS to join his wife on an adventure he could not pass up, becoming truck drivers (more on this later). When they decided to come off the road he landed on the final job of his career. He worked for Marine Hydraulics International for over 15 years. They perform ship maintenance and overhauls, primarily on US Navy ships along with a few commercial ones. He was a Master Mechanic in facilities. When he started his wife asked him, “As talented as you are, why would you want to be a janitor!” He laughed and told her that facilities meant where his office was located. His job was working on ships, cranes, forklifts, and everything in between. He oversaw all the company cranes. He had a half a million-dollar budget. Whenever a crane went down who did they call…. Ron Cassimore! He also inspected the cranes and he was asked to look at the cranes before they bought them. When asked to fix a Navy ship’s fire pump he reworked it to run faster and more efficiently. The captain of the ship was so impressed that he asked MHI if Ron would teach the process to their ship mechanics. He earned the respect of many United States Navy Captains over the years. They would request Ron to resolve their ship maintenance issues. One captain even invited Ron to his quarters for lunch, which was unheard of. Ron was well liked and respected by many people, from the powers to be and coworkers of MHI to vendors, crane operators, all the way up to Captains of the US Navy. He was a Jack of all Trades and a Master of All. Not many men can say that. Ron worked at MHI International up until the day he was diagnosed and went on FMLA to take care of his health. The day after Ron’s FMLA ran out MHI International laid him off, stripping him of his health care benefits. After 15+ years of dedication and going above and beyond his job description, MHI International crossed Ron’s name off their employee roster and kept moving on.

In 2003 to 2005 Ron and Sue had their biggest adventure when they became Interstate Tractor Trailer Drivers. They drove as a team for CRST Logistics, one drove at night and one during the day. They named their truck “The Beast from the East” and proudly displayed the name at the top of their windshield. That name became their CB handle. Being long haul truck drivers gave them an opportunity to see every state in the US except for a few in New England, taking in as many sights as they could. They saw the large cacti in Arizona, the mountains in Colorado, huge rock formations in Utah, Roswell in New Mexico, Mardi Gras in Louisiana, the Hollywood sign in California, and let’s not forget about the yard sales along the way! They say, “home is where you make it”, and they made their home for two years in a tiny tractor sleeping cab. They outfitted it with a small fridge, microwave, tv, computer, and a small box oven. One night they found themselves at a truck stop in a blinding snowstorm with about 50 other truckers. Due to the storm the DOT closed the interstate. Soon the truck stop ran out of food and water. As truckers passed their truck, they were telling Ron about the truck stop running out of supplies. Ron told them, “That is all right we have plenty of supplies, we are cooking a pot roast and potatoes for dinner” as he let the aroma drift out the window. The truckers walked back to their truck, their empty hands in their pockets. Not many couples can live together in such a small space, 24 hours a day! It is a testament to their marriage and friendship.

But the greatest accomplishment he would say was his family. Family was everything to him. He cherished each one. He had the perfect family, a loving wife, daughter, and a son. Ron was an amazing husband. He always put Sue above everything else and made sure she had 45 excellent years with him. He also was a wonderful father. He was always present and loved them very much. When the kids were little, they could not wait until Daddy came home. As soon as the door opened, and he came in, they would run to him with arms outstretched. He would fall on the floor and allow them to climb all over him tickling him. He was so much fun but could be strict when it was needed. Ron and Sue raised Amanda and Ronald Jr to be loving, caring, and successful adults with a deep sense of work ethic. Amanda is the Director of the Re-entry Program under DJJ for Tidewater Youth Services Foundation. Ronnie is a high voltage electrician at Driskell Electric. He has been with Driskell for 22 years.   Ron was just ecstatic when the grandchildren, Cameron, 10, and Isabella, 7, came along. They were the apple of his eye. Ron enjoyed having fun with them and spending time with them. Ron loved teaching them life lessons. He looked forward to retiring and going on adventures with them.

Ron never wanted a lavish funeral, as he once said, “Just put a bone in my a** and let the dogs drag me off. Then have a big party.” In accordance with Ron’s wishes, a Celebration of Life get-together will be held in January. This gathering will be a chance for those that were touched by Ron’s caring and funny soul to come together and share their unique stories. ” Let us honor his wishes and celebrate the incredible person he was.