Ronald Hubek

Ron Hubek, a family man through and through and a lover of animals. Caring and generous with his time and resources, he modeled a lifetime of hard work and sincere compassion for others with a genuine sense of humor. A loving and supportive husband and father, cherished grandfather and a friend to so many. Ron’s kindness and friendship will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him.

The 1950s were known as the decade of the baby boomer and the modern American family. Proud parents, Rudolph and Goldie (Ashcraft) Hubek welcomed home their newborn son, Ronald Lynn, on July 22, 1951, in Hamilton, Ohio. Ronnie was surround in life by his older brother, Danny and younger sister, Pam. Growing up in Somerville, Ohio, the small town was filled with his family where cousins were some of his best friends and aunts and uncles were second parents, these years formed his love and commitment for family and community. He grew up in a household that recognized the benefits of self reliance and that responsibility begins as soon as you are able. One summer Ronnie’s father tasked him and his siblings to build a rock wall made from rocks they collected and moved via wheelbarrow from the banks of a local creek to their backyard. It was an arduous task, but a story dad referenced many times throughout the years.

The family moved to the Kalamazoo area in 1966 when the opening of the new General Motors Comstock plant hired Ron’s dad as a journeyman. New to Comstock High School, Ron soon met his equal in love, laughter, and family values, Rosemary Chmiel, who was his love, friend, wife, partner in life, and warrior care giver in his latter years. After graduating with the Class of 1969, Ron took a job at that GM plant. Shortly thereafter he felt the call to duty along with many of his peers and enlisted in the United States Army because of the Vietnam War. Ron spent three years on active duty. He was proud to serve and remained in the Michigan National Guards for 13 years, which included the story of driving the Kalamazoo police around in a deuce-in-a-half during the blizzard of 1978. While on leave from the military, he and Rosemary married on April 22, 1971. Together they raised two wonderful children; Tina and Rudy.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Ron returned to working for GM as a lift truck driver. A strong provider, he mainly worked 2nd shift, so in conjunction with Rosemary’s job, one of them could always be home with the kids. Ron was a motivated, self-driven provider and father. He worked tirelessly and often took extra shifts to provide for his kids’ college, family vacations, and endless home improvements. He and the family always took vacations during the two weeks in the summer when the factory closed down. Much of this time was spent traveling back to Ohio to visit his family or at least was always a stop on the way to wherever the destination and a stop on the way back home to Portage, MI. With so much worked overtime, Ron accrued a full retirement from GM upon the plants closure in 1999 and his hard work and dedication provided him with the luxury of stepping into a retirement, at which time he sharpened his babysitting skills caring for his grand babies... a responsibility that gave him great joy and a whole new zest for life. In addition to his hard work at the shop, he was always busy with projects around the house. Every summer brought the banging of a hammer, the whizzing of the electric saws and the reminder to put your shoes on because of the possible rouge nail lying about. Self-sufficient and willing to do the work meant he never called anyone to fix or repair anything, but always knew he could call on his family and friends when extra muscle was needed. Growing up in such a home taught Ron’s kids the focus, determination, and a “never quit” attitude you can achieve with what you set your sights on.

He loved to learn new things, an avid reader of historical conflicts, woodworking, construction, mechanics, and aviation, he received his pilot’s license and learned to fly an ultralight plane. He enjoyed riding his Harley and taking it apart and rebuilding it, fast cars, and was thrilled to check skydiving off his bucket list! Ron enjoyed baseball and wrestling as a teen and as an adult let off steam playing softball, golfing, bowling, bass fishing, running, and lifting weights. In 2003 an earlier life illness caught up to him that eventually crippled his liver and being a lover of this life with a willful positive mind he decided to receive a liver transplant in 2006 that then required him a kidney transplant in 2007, donated by his daughter Tina. This all brought his fast, full, active life to a very slow and limited crawl, a view of life through which he was about to gain a new appreciation in receiving instead of always being the giver. What he could no longer “do” for others he learned to allow others to “do” for him, expressing genuine gratitude along the way... this was how he continued to give the best of himself from his heart. He never let this change define his life as he always looked on the bright side. In his last quarter of his life he may have been less active, but his sense of humor, sincere kindness for others, and love of family never wavered.

It needs to be said, if Ron called you a friend and “poked fun” at you, you were family to him. Always giving and always willing to help others in a time of need was at the heart of Ronnie. Whenever someone stopped over he would make sure they knew they were welcome, unless they were not and then he didn’t hesitate to let them know. His fearless compassion and selflessness shown at a time when he dove into water after a parasailing accident occurred to float his friend above water, who suffered a sever head injury, until medics arrived. He was family centered and was a great support to his mother for many years after his father passed away until she moved out of state. Ron was a loving man and lived his life to the fullest. He faced every challenge with optimism and will forever be remembered for his love of his family and the desire for community. May his loved ones always feel his warm presence whenever they are gathered and may his memories be eternal.

Ronald Lynn Hubek died on Thursday, December 29, 2022, at his residence surround by his family which included all of his fur babies. Members of his family include his beloved wife of over 51 years, Rosemary; his two children: Tina (Brad) Ritchie and USAF Ret. Major Rudolph (Kim) Hubek; six grandchildren: Kayla, Elzey, Anna, Grace, Hailey, and Cassie; sister, Pam (Bill) Owens; and many extended family, nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his brother, Danny (Pat) Hubek.

Please join us for a visitation where stories will be shared on Wednesday, January 4, 2023, from 5-7pm at the Betzler Life Story Funeral Home, 6080 Stadium Drive, Kalamazoo (269) 375-2900. Life Story Services will be held the following day at 11:30am, Thursday at the same location. Visit Ron’s webpage at BetzlerLifeStory.com to archive favorite memories and photos and sign his guestbook. Memorial contributions may be made to the University of Michigan Transplant Center or the Texas Twp Fire Department.