Passing of Ron Barnett - former AACA National President

[imported_Bob Hill]

I was just informed by our region (North Alabama Region) president that Ron Barnett, 1991 AACA National President, passed away last evening around 11:00PM. I have no other details but will post as soon as I do.

Ron got me into the AACA back in the mid-80s. Ron also provided me great insight as I served as region president in the mid-90s and during my stint as co-chair for the 1996 AACA Grand National held here in Huntsville. Without Ron's guidance my job would have been much harder.

Remember Sally in your prayers

BOB

[West Peterson]

I am deeply saddened... and speechless.

[Steve Moskowitz]

Amen....very sad morning.

[Rick Hoover]

Yes it is indeed ~~ Rest in peace my friend.

[Ccar]

Wow, what a shocker. We missed Ron at Hershey, and reports were he was ok with treatments. He looked good in several pictures from recent tour.

Hard to accept Gods will at times. Loss of words at this time to fully express our sadness. Our prayers go to Sally and their children.

Chuck & Cathy Carisch

[Dynaflash8]

We just saw Ron at the Cleveland, TN National Meet and thought he was doing pretty good. His Sally said he had to take 5 more kemo treatments when he got home. My Judy sent a card only yesterday. His loss will be felt immensely, and we too are greatly saddened to hear of his passing.

Earl & Judy Beauchamp

He and I sometimes laughed about what I told him after he became a Director, and long before I did. I told him that I voted for him that first time after I read that his first car was a 1939 Chrysler, like my grandfather once had. What a reason to vote for somebody we used to say? Somewhere I have a good picture of him with his Marmon at the Charlotte Meet, in the rain, this last April 2008. I hope I can find it on my old computer.

Earl

[Terry Bond]

Lost for words. Tears no problem. Ron loved family, life, AACA, the old car hobby and of course this forum.

Terry & Susan

[novaman]

.......... no words can express the loss .....

[Steve Moskowitz]

Just talked to Sally. Ron passed away peacefully last night and he will be missed by a whole legion of friends and family. "Mr. Marmon", "Mr.Pipe", "Mr. Moustache" or "Mr. Sherlock Holmes Hat", whatever your memory of him will sure be lasting. Sally will let us know of the arrangements but already stated that any memorials go to the AACA Library & Research Center. Both Ron and Sally both have always been a huge supporter of our library.

Have a drink of your favorite beverage this weekend and have a toast to Ron...he would appreciate that!

[JMR]

Our hearts are saddened about the passing of Ron. What a wonderful mentor he was for me as I served on the AACA national board. He loved life, people and old cars! We had the honor of seeing Ron and Sally on the Reliability Tour last week for a day. He looked great and seemed to be doing quite well. We are glad that Sally brought him to participate on the tour and the Buzzy meeting where he got to see a lot of his old friends and was doing what he enjoyed most.

Our hearts and prayers go out to Sally and the family.

John and Janet Ricketts

[R W Burgess]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> "Mr. Marmon", "Mr.Pipe", "Mr. Moustache" or "Mr. Sherlock Holmes Hat", whatever your memory of him will sure be lasting...... </div></div>

......and, or course..."Father Ron", the originator of this web site, as he and Peter Gariepy brainstormed the construction of, and launching of this web site.

Ron was also, in a big way, a supporter of my son, Mike.

May you rest in peace Ron!

Gloria, Wayne, and Mike

[Guest AlK]

Blast!!!!! Ron was at the inaugural meeting of our now-defunct region. But when he was here with his wife he gave us a lot of encouragement. He will be sorely missed.

Al Kahl

[Ron Green]

He will surely be missed by many. Ron always took the time to stop and say hello when you ran into him.

[Jay Wolf]

Ron used to be pretty active on the list under the name

Ronbarn.

He will be missed we used to go over to the Warwick Hotel in Hummelstown for crabcakes every year during Hershey.

[quenie]

We are speechless. As long time members of the Marmon Club we had come to know Ron as a good friend and "old car nut". We know he was interested in all antique cars but we like to think he had a special spot in his heart for Marmons. He did a magnificent job putting out our Marmon Newsletter and we loved to bid against him on eBay for Marmon memorabelia. We will certainly miss all of that and we will miss him, especially his moustache.

Rest in Peace, Ron. You deserve it.

Chic and Arlene Kleptz

[trimacar]

What a loss, Ron was a great guy. I first met him in my hometown in Louisiana on a tour, and he rode in my Pierce. His comment on the Pierce headlight design (he said it was his first ride in a Pierce) was that they were attractive from the inside the car (looking over the hood) as a passenger, he just did not care for them from the outside. He later bought a collection of automobile tools from a common friend, and I teased him about my passing them up. Seeing him on other tours or at Hershey, he was always quite the gentleman, and quite the car enthusiast, and could entertain you with Marmon trivia. I will miss knowing he is in the hobby, I can only echo Rest in Peace. My prayers are with him and his family. David Coco Winchester Va.

[Guest BruceW]

I checked my email just before leaving work today when I saw the message about Ron. The drive home was long and very depressing, thinking about the loss. Di and I was just talking about Ron yesterday when she showed me a card she got to send to him, and we were wondering how he was doing. He was a great friend to know and he had many friends. I am proud to be able to say I knew him. His passing is a tremendous loss... but I guess God needed a good story teller in heaven to pass the time with.

Our hearts and prayers go to Sally and the rest of their family.

[Shop Rat]

We just lost one of the great ones.

[NeilS]

Marty and I are deeply saddened by Ron's passing. We missed him at Hershey, but heard he was doing well, which makes his passing that much harder to accept. Ron's influence on AACA and the antique car hobby will continue. He was a true enthusiast and a gentleman, and his help got me back into AACA class judging. At this time, our thoughts and prayers are for Sally, and we share her grief and sorrow.

Neil & Marty Sugermeyer

[1937hd45]

Truely sad news, Ron was a lot of fun to be with and a big help to AACA. The Marmon was his favorite car make and he had two great ones that came out of Vermont. Thoughts and prayers going out to his family.

[R W Burgess]

I merged these last two posts to the original Ron Thread.

Wayne

[imported_Bob Hill]

I was notified this afternoon that his funeral will be Tuesday at 10:30AM at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Huntsville. There will be a reception after the service but no visitation prior to the funeral is planned.

For those who are close enough they might consider attending, the church address is 12200 Bailey Cove Rd, Huntsville. If anyone needs directions feel free to send me a PM and I will give you directions.

Bob

[Peter Gariepy]

Ron was definitely one of the good guys. A great ambassador of the club and hobby.

Ron was one of my mentors in the club.

Always positive

Always constructive

Always a friend

A car guys car guy.

I will truly miss him.

Peter

[pistoncollector]

Ron and I were friends for close to 30 years. Our families shared many good times together and we will miss him immensely. Last week He and Sally rode with me on Wednesday at the RELIABILITY TOUR in Chattanooga. He was in great spirits and optomistic about the outcome of his treatments. So I was shocked when Sally called to tell me the news..... I am still shocked. But I am glad that he passed through our lives and know that I will remember him often with fond memories. There is a hole in the "collector car universe" today.

Thank you Sally for supporting Ron all these years and working with him to make the AACA a better organization. We are all indebted to both of you.

Paul Ianuario (Pistoncollector)

[Peter Gariepy]

[Guest GreenSixteen]

Pete: I am the president of the Marmon Club. I may want to use the pic you posted of Ron (taken at Philadelphia?) in an upcoming issue of the Marmon News. Can I have your permission to do that?

George Bradley

gcbradley@embarqmail.com

[Peter Gariepy]

GreenSixteen,

Absolutely.

It was actually taken by Wayne Burgess - but im sure he'll approve.

Right Wayne!?

Peter

[Guest imported_Brenda Shore]

It is with a very heavy heart that I say good-bye to Ron. As for many of us he coached and led us to where we are today. Our sympathy is with Sally and the family.

Go in peace, Ron!

Love, Brenda (Shore) and Dave Kaiser

[Dave@Moon]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Peter Gariepy</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Ron was definitely one of the good guys. A great ambassador of the club and hobby.

Ron was one of my mentors in the club.

Always positive

Always constructive

Always a friend

A car guys car guy.

I will truly miss him.

Peter </div></div>

Ron was one of the most welcoming and helpful people I found here at the forum when it first started up here and I started posting. I met him only once, and very briefly at that, but I miss him.

[Pierre]

Ron was so supportative in my early AACA years and continued that throughout the many years that we knew him. The last time we had a long talk with Ron was in Charlotte and he was bragging about me to another car owner about the restoration that I personally did on my 50 Ford. It is strange that on Thursday I was going through some things to reduce "clutter" and found letters from Ron and just could not discard them. They were so beautifully written and kind. My husband and I will truly miss Ron and our thoughts and prayers go to Sally and the family.

Jeannette and Barry Hall

[24T42]

GreenSixteen,

Wayne might not get back to for a few days as he is on his way to the Founders Tour this week. Knowing Wayne as I do, I am positive that he would give you permission. He is always generous with his photos and story material as well. If it turns out that Wayne won't let you use the photo, let me know. Wayne calls me his "life line" and calls on me for all sorts of computer help. If he won't let you use the photos, I will tell him I won't help him anymore and I don't think he would want that - esp. with Philly coming up.

Judy Edwards

[R W Burgess]

George, feel free to use that picture or any pictures that you may find in the photo gallery. They are probably more somewhere in the gallery. Ron was always happy to give me a wave or a handshake as he did everyone.

On a side note, Gloria and I just ate dinner beside a table full of Ron's friends, The Meyer family, the Shore family, and the Scotland family. I'm sure Ron's memory was discussed often.

Wayne

PS, Judy, you have my number if you need anything.

[R W Burgess]

From Philly 2003;

I'm sure there are more George, from Philly pictures taken after 2003.

Wayne

[R W Burgess]

One more of Ron and Dan Binger, who passed away earlier this year.

Wayne

[imported_Bob Hill]

Here is Ron's obituary from our morning paper:

<span style="font-weight: bold">Ronald Van Barnett </span>

Nov. 5, 1939 - Oct. 31, 2008

Ronald Van Barnett, 68, of Union Grove passed away Friday.

Mr. Barnett received his bachelor's degree from the University of California and his master's degree from the University of Southern California. He served in the U.S. Army from 1962 to 1978. He received a Bronze Star for Vietnam War service. He served many years as a missile man on Kwajalein and at Vandenburg Air Force Base. He worked for 10 years at Science Applications International Corp. in logistics and systems analysis.

Mr. Barnett was an avid collector of vintage vehicles, both two wheeled and four wheeled. He especially loved driving the bride and groom for weddings and driving in parades. He was active in the North Alabama region, Antique Automobile Club of America, serving as president and national meet chairman. He was a member of the AACA board of directors for 15 years and served as president in 1991. He was also the recipient of five national awards for service and achievement.

Survivors include his wife, Sally Dupree Barnett; sons, Kevin Van Barnett of Tacoma, Wash., Sam Dupree Barnett and wife Angela of Columbiana, and Edward "Ted" Allen Barnett of Montevallo; and grandsons, Charles Van Barnett, Austin Dupree Barnett and Carl Alexander Barnett.

A memorial service will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 12200 Bailey Cove Road, Huntsville, AL 35803 with the Rev. Carl Bright officiating. A reception will follow. Laughlin Service Funeral Home is assisting the family.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Antique Automobile Club of American Library and Research Center, 501 Governor's Road, Hershey, PA 17033 or the Veteran's Memorial Museum, 2060A Airport Road, Huntsville, AL 35801.

[Peter Gariepy]

The obituary is accurate, but boy... does it miss the depth of good man.

[sambarn]

There has been a small SNAFU with regard to timing ( why we always left "number" stuff with the engineer, not the librarian). Services will be held at 11:00 AM for my father, Ron Barnett, not at 10:30 as previously stated. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has submitted, read and uploaded pics onto the forum. This forum was one of my father's great prides and to have been used as a remembrance forum for him means a lot to our family. Many of our friends and family from outside the carworld have Googled his name and this is what they have found.

It has been said that a man is defined by those he is surrounded by. This forum has helped many our friends see what a great man he was simply by the great company he kept and how he was looked up to and admired by his friends. Thank you for this and for your years of friendship and love of my father.

[Guest caribbeandude]

what a tragic loss, great guy! enjoyed so much talking with him about the saga of Huntsville's Keller car, he may be gone but his spirit of enthusiasm will never leave us, take care, thinking of the family at this difficult time, Vance George

[Guest imported_carbadge]

As I sit here in Charlotte waiting for my flight to Huntsville, I'm touched by all the posts regarding Ron.

Ron or better yet, "Uncle Ronnie" was both a mentor to me, my wife, my Mother-in-law and my mother. That being said - he did things no single individual could have ever done. He taught my wife how to drive a brass car - Team Hudson had to have been a sight to see. He taught my Mother in Law the ins and outs of the old boys club she was elected to and would eventually preside over. He showed my mother how his views of judging could be combined with modern computers to build the most advanced judging system in the world. He showed me how to lead, stand up for what you believe in and at the same time,have fun while trying to make a difference in the AACA.

Tracy and I had a beer and a shot of bourbon in his honor Friday night and Saturday I lit a cigar, and pulled a 1962 Solex Moped (that Ron had owned) and drove it around for about 30 minutes - why??? Because that's what he would have done!!!

[novaman]

Just hope you didn't stick that lit cigar in your pocket like Ron would his pipe!!