Ronald Dean Joseph - husband, father, grandpa, brother, son, uncle and friend - passed away peacefully in his sleep on July 1st surrounded by family; just the way he intended.  Like so many of his adventures in life, Dad decided being told what to do just was not for him - Spending his final days in a hospital or assisted care center was not how he wanted to go about it, so he didn't.  Instead, Ron spent his final precious days at home surrounded by his children, grandchildren, and his wife of 51 years, Linda.  Dad was always his own person and made his own path in life; even to the very end he was still cracking jokes, crushing crackers, and chugging coffee.

Ronald Dean Joseph was born in Wagner, South Dakota on July 14th, 1946. He was the third child of Donita Zona and Ferris Francis Joseph, Sr., and would eventually be one of fifteen children. Ron is preceded in death by his parents, his siblings Jeannette "Jeannie" Jenesse, Donna Joseph, Randolph "Randy" Joseph, Michael Joseph, Ricky Montileaux and Gregory Joseph, and countless friends.

He had a life filled with adventures and numerous occupations ranging from law enforcement to eventually truck driving which he pursued for over 30 years before retiring to Texas and then devoting his time and energy to enjoy his real passion in life, his grandchildren.  Ron married his wife, Linda, over 50 years ago and they had five children together who all have significant others (Travis & Michelle, Wendy & Jeff, Brian & Gayla, Matthew & Christina, and Megan & Brad) that then led to his nine grandchildren (Austin, Gillian, Nate, Joselynn, Coen, Ainsley, Kooper, Miles, and Emma).

Ron passed on a lot of knowledge to his kids and grandkids over the years; the old man could fix anything. Electrical, mechanical, plumbing, the list goes on.  If it was broken, he would figure out why and get it working again in short order. Sadly, his extensive use of specific names for his tools "thingamajig" "whatchamacallit" and of course the always useful "TheDeal..RightThere…NoNotThat" made learning a bit tough and we are not all as adept at fixing things in our homes today as Dad (though we did all inherit his ability to break things!) In all seriousness, we all miss having Dad available to take a call and starting the conversation with "Ok Dad, I took it apart like you said, but now how do I get it back together?" He would just laugh, tell us to grab a football, and then start walking us through how to repair whatever it was we had broken.

Ron was a stickler for cleanliness and hard work, and all of his children got the pleasure of having a mid-western work ethic instilled in us.  If there was a person who worked harder than Dad, I have never met them. When Dad was around there was no such thing as idle hands or break time; unless it was for him to have his coffee. Note I said him, not you - so get back to work.

Dad had more than the typical 9 lives of a cat.  I have lost count the number of times Mom would call to say Dad was sick, in the hospital, and we don't think he is going to rebound from this one. The kids, scattered far and wide across the country, would fly or drive a ridiculously long ways only to pull into the parent's driveway to see Dad in his brown overalls, sitting on his mower, and yelling "What the hell are you doing here?"

Ron was not one to fill the room with words just to talk, but if you did need some advice there was nothing you couldn't talk to him about. From parenting advice to work, life, religion, or whatever the subject may be, he was always willing to pick up the phone and listen and give you his take on it. We are going to miss those calls, Dad.

There will be a celebration of life for Ron on October 8th at 1 p.m. in Beresford, SD at the Senior Events Center for us to celebrate Dad and be in the company of those he loved and who loved him.  Dad knew life was not about fortunes won and lost, or material things left behind, but rather the memories made and the lives positively impacted.  His family has lost count of the number of friends and relatives who have reached out recently to share stories about how he influenced and impacted their lives and the lives of their friends and family.  Thank you, Dad, for all you did for us and for helping us live our lives in the example you helped set; we love and miss you.  And until we all see you again, Roll On.