Ronald Eugene Mcbride

At age 72, Ronald Eugene McBride passed into eternity on October 31, 2024, after a long battle with dementia.

Ronnie was born to Geanice Lorraine Parsons and Ardell Byron McBride on January 30, 1952. He was their third child, joining Marilyn and David, and was followed by Kenneth. Ronnie loved and respected his mother and father, talking about them with fondness throughout his life.

Ronnie attended the Old Bernie Grade School with Mr. Smoke as the principal. In first grade, he was taught by Mrs. Clasen, 2nd grade by Jenny Fischer, 3rd grade by Mrs. Oft, 4th grade by Mrs. Cook, 5th grade by Swanee Beck, and 6th grade by Dave Klicker.

At age 9, Ronnie started his yardwork business, sold magazine subscriptions, and sold ice cream at Pioneer Park for his brother David's Ice Cream business. The yard work began his love for gardening and landscaping, which would become Ronnie's lifetime advocation.

Ronnie entered Pioneer Junior High School as a 7th grader in 1965. He was again taught by Dave Klicker and started playing the trumpet.

As an accomplished baseball player and a WWII decorated veteran, Ardell McBride coached all four children to play baseball and hunt. Yearly, Ardell set up a hunting camp in the Blue Mountains. The McBride Hunting Camp was a renowned camp for many Walla Walla hunters.

In summary, these were Ronnie's Pioneer Junior High years: 1965 7th grade, 1966 8th grade, and 1967 9th grade. Although Ronnie was small for his age, he always played up, probably due to his father's excellent coaching. As an 8th grader, Ronnie and his baseball teammates competed in Hawaii—a trip of a lifetime!

Fall of 1967, Ronnie started the 10th grade in the new Walla Walla High School. 1967-1968 was a year of Ronnie's one-foot growth spurt. He became successful in school, especially in baseball. In 1968, while in the 11th grade, Ronnie is pictured on p79 of the Royal Blue yearbook with Judy Fiedler and Mr. Johnnie Dennis doing physics calculations. Mr. Dennis was the National Science Teacher of the Year. Judy Fiedler signed his yearbook with, "You have added to my limited enjoyment of physics." In 1968, while in the 10th grade, Ronnie was part of the Wa-Hi varsity team. They won the Big Eight Baseball Championship. Wa-Hi had won that title for the second time in a row. In 1969, while in the 11th grade, he was part of another Big Eight Baseball Champion Team. Wa-Hi had won that title for a 3rd consecutive year. He remembered his excellent teammates: Steve Aycock, Dave Boschker, Rick Collins, Gary Brumback, Steve Martin, Mike Hansen, Mike Eisele, Mike Murr, Larry Britain, Mike Bergevin, and Greg Garland, plus others.

1970 was Ronnie's senior year. He remembered teammates on his varsity baseball team, such as Ruben Coronado, Doug Filan, and Chuck Streamer.

In June 1970, Ronnie graduated from Wa-Hi and worked another summer of harvest for Buchanen Farms. In the fall of 1970, Ronnie started Spokane Community College on a baseball scholarship along with Larry Brittain. Unfortunately, Ron suffered a career-ending injury in the Spring of 1971. His next educational setting was the University of Washington. Ron graduated in 1976 with a B.S. degree in Forest Science. Ron was mentored by U. of W. Professor Dr. Stettler, who challenged Ron to complete two research projects: 1) Plant trees that lined Shelby Street bordering the ship canal. 2) Research into which cottonwood trees were best fitted to become milled into cardboard paper.

After graduating from the U. of W., Ron immediately started his business, R.E.M. Landscaping, in the Tacoma Highlands. He specialized in gardening and pruning. He created beautiful gardens using ornamental evergreens, rhododendrons, azaleas, and Japanese maples. He devoted the rest of his career to R.E.M. Landscaping, focusing primarily in Walla Walla, WA. He considered his clients friends. He always worked by himself and would wear four shirts on hot days. He was especially proud of his pruning work.

In 1994, Ron met Pamela Petermann at the YMCA. On their first date, Ron told her he wanted to marry her. She fell immediately in love with him and claimed he was her knight in shining armor. They married on July 29, 1995. Their daughter, Marissa O'sher McBride, was born May 16, 2003. Their son, Rem Tanner McBride, was born on February 27, 2006. Ron was a devoted father, taking care of the children in the morning and often taking them to work with him. Ron loved to ski, and he taught both children to ski.

Ron and Pamela McBride divorced in 2016, but that was not the end of their relationship. When Ron developed dementia in 2020, Pamela began caring for him. At the onset of Ron's dementia, his ability to work and communicate diminished. Pamela became his full-time caregiver for the last five years of his life. His personality changed into a quiet, kind, and gentle person. Ron had always been a talker, but dementia stole that ability.

March 2024, Ron had to enter the Parkview Memory Care Center. On October 18, 2024, Ron fell at Parkview and broke his right hip and L4 vertebrae. After five days in the hospital, it was decided not to have hip replacement surgery but to honor Ron's "Five Wishes." Ron entered into Hospice Care with Pamela by his side. Ron's last days were peaceful. October 31, 2024, when Ron entered eternity, he just stopped breathing. Pamela was at his bedside. His friend, Matt Mahan, assisted with his end-of-life cremation and burial of his urn in Ardell McBride's grave.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at 10:00 AM, at the Chapel of the Herring Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to a charity of choice through the Herring Groseclose Funeral Home, 315 W Alder St, Walla Walla WA 99362. Friends and family are invited to sign the online guestbook at www.herringgroseclose.com.