Ronald Kent Ririe, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather, passed away October 28th in Salt Lake City. He was born January 5, 1932, in Magrath, Alberta, Canada to Horace and Nellie Mae Ririe. He spent all of his early years in Magrath where he graduated from high school in 1950.
He attended BYU for one year before embarking on an LDS mission to the Northern States. Upon his return, he married Joan Harker, his childhood sweetheart. He then continued his education at BYU where he graduated in 1956. He and Joan moved to California where he attended UCLA and received his MBA.
They raised their two sons there and Ron began a 30+ year career with IBM. They later moved to Salt Lake where Joan passed away in 1980. He married Afton (Orme) Ririe and gained five more children.
He and Afton traveled much of the world together. Ron loved spending time in Bigfork, Montana, which he considered his home away from home. He had a passion for hiking the mountains both locally and around the world, with his greatest adventure being two climbs of Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Ron was a devoted member of the LDS Church in which he served faithfully in many callings. He particularly enjoyed serving in the Salt Lake Temple and serving with Afton as missionaries for the Perpetual Education Fund. He is survived by his wife, his two sons Kent (Lori) and Kevin (Becky), Afton's children Greg Orme, Kathleen Kennedy (Jim), Bob Orme, Allyson Baker, and Sherry Feldman (Craig), along with 19 grandchildren and 18 2/3 great grandchildren who adored him and whom he adored. He is also survived by his brothers David (Mary Lou), Brent (Jo Ellen) and numerous nieces, nephews, and other extended family.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, November 5 at 11:00 a.m. in the Olympus Hills ward, 4176 Adonis Drive. A visitation will be held Friday night from 6-8 p.m. at the ward, and from 9:30 to 10:30 prior to the service. An extended obituary can be found at www.larkinmortuary.com.
If you so desire, a donation may be made to the LDS Perpetual Education Fund or the LDS Humanitarian Fund.
