Celebrant Pam Meily Vetter


	Celebrating Life Everyone Has A Story...

He was the first born child and only son for Paul and Catherine Youngker. Given the name Ronald Allan Youngker, he was soon known as Ronnie. He was born in Long Beach, but returned with his family to Catalina Island when he was 10 days old. Soon, he was joined by three sisters: Betty, Terri, and Miki. Catalina was a wonderful place to grow up because it was a close knit community. Ronnie always looked up to his father who was a Longshoreman. One day, he dreamed of being a Longshoreman, just like his father.

Throughout school, Ronnie was one of the most popular boys. Ronnie met Sylvia, the love of his life, at Avalon High School in Catalina. They dated for one year and went steady for one year. Ronnie surprised Sylvia when he proposed in front of everyone at the senior prom at the Catalina Country Club. She said, "Yes!" The couple was engaged for one year and then married in August 1961 while Ronnie was home from the Navy. Ronnie was in the Philippines when his first son, Ron Jr., was born in 1962. He was so proud when he met his son. He finished 4 years of service with the United States Navy and returned home to begin a lifetime of being a Longshoreman. His birthday present in 1964 was his second born son, Mike. In 1967, Sylvia and Ronnie welcomed their only daughter, Kim. Ronnie fed her the first bottle and dressed her. In 1968, the couple welcomed son, Shawn. Ronnie was always excited for different reasons with each birth. In 1981, their son, Beau, came into the world. Ronnie loved all of his children. He was always a great husband and father.

Their best family Christmas memory was when they went to the mountains and rented a cabin. It snowed on Christmas Eve and they had no television, no phone, and they decorated the tree in a homemade, old fashioned way. On their 25th Wedding Anniversary, Sylvia and Ronnie finally took their honeymoon to Hawaii. Over the years there were several trips to Hawaii and many cruises. In his free time, he loved golfing. He also loved songs from the 50's, country music and listened to his favorite station KZLA 93.9. Over the years, he loved playing poker with his children and his favorite saying was, "Shuffle up and deal." For Ronnie's 50th birthday, the family threw a surprise party. Ronnie loved it.

Ronnie had a real love of life. He was a huge Angels fan. He also collected thousands of baseball cards cataloguing and organizing them with his son, Beau. Ronnie will be remembered as a man who made everybody happy and everyone loved him. He was the one man who made you feel good. His final days were spent with friends at his "No Class Reunion" on Catalina Island. He ended his evening with a chocolate dipped ice cream cone and loved every minute of it. In his final moments, Ronnie Youngker was surrounded by family. Ronnie was cremated with an Ace of Spades and an 8 of Spades, which was his hand in poker. Ronnie Youngker was one of a kind. In honoring his wishes, his ashes will be scattered off the coast of Catalina.

Over the course of his life and with a great love of the water, he worked for 44 years as a Longshoreman. Ronnie Youngker will be remembered every day by his wife, Sylvia, 5 children, 6 grandchildren, and one great-grandson. Donations are welcome in his name to the Diabetes fund at http://www.diabetes.org or to the Cancer fund at http://www.cancer.org.