R.I.P.--73M819--Ron Harris

[Lust4GreenSteel]

Who can tell me the story of this emoji? At first, I thought it was a rock. Now it is beginning to remind me of a "diamond in the rough".

 

[Tinwoodsman]

Ron was both!

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

Deb came home and told me what I consider my stepmother passed away this morning as well. Now those 2 knuckleheads have company to keep a hand on them.

zout,
Our prayers are with you and Deb for this additional loss. Anyone given the honorary title of "stepmother" has got to be a very special person. Please let me know if there's anything you need.
John

I also want the thank our "Sky Pilot" (the Chaplain) for the talk we had yesterday.......John is a good man and we are lucky he stepped up to see to the spiritual needs of this rag tag band of misfits, curmudgeons and reprobates that make this hobby fun and interesting.

You're welcome, Richard.
For some reason, I've been on the phone quite a bit the past days. And every one of those calls has been a blessing to me. I just pray that talking has helped the callers too.

I shall never forget the day Chris (SteelSoldiers) asked me to step into the Chaplain's role. I asked him for a couple of days to pray about it.
BUT, as soon as I verbalized the request to Dianna the Holy Spirit made it very clear to me.... "I've called you," I heard HIS voice say, "What ar you going to have to 'think' about?" Well, I didn't wait the two days to reply to Chris. And the Lord has been using me in ways I never could have imagined. It is a privilege to serve HIM by serving this "rag tag band of misfits". After all, I'm one of those rascals myself!

I remember one of my calls with Ron wherein I told him of being called to serve as Chaplain. I think that the moment his "crusty shell" cracked just enough that he let me in. I sense he probably spoke very little about faith with anyone else. There are some good men who keep that private. I miss my friend.

Please remember Ron's family and if you can spare some Federal Reserve Notes contribute to the Benevolence Fund to help them defray the costs that are always associated with a terrible tragedy like this.

With that prodding, I'll add this....

No dollar figure has been set (yet) for how much is needed to stand in the gap for Lucille. Yes, the costs are significant - even with some cost conscious choices made for Ron's deathcare needs.

So far, the donations still keep coming in - both small and large and everything in between. Last evening I already transferred the initial surge of contributions to Georgia. Yet, I am also keenly aware that some donors are awaiting their next paychecks to send something in, and there are some who have put some parts up "for sale" with the proceeds pledged to the Fund. There are also some funds coming via snail mail. ALL of this is fine. I sharing just so y'all how have inquired will understand that an accurate status is not available.... Let's simply trust the good Lord to provide... and if HE has tugged on your heart to give - or even to dig a little deeper - it would be under HIS good guidance to do so. We should keep in mind that our brother Ron was the bread-winner in the household.

James 1:27
Amplified Bible (AMP)

27 Pure and unblemished religion [as it is expressed in outward acts] in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit and look after the fatherless and the widows in their distress, and to keep oneself uncontaminated by the [secular] world.

 

[swbradley1]

Reminds me of setting up Ron at our pig roast a few memories back. He wanted so badly to put the 250 lb piggy on the grill with his wrecker. Well it was too easy for him so I started betting folks Ron could flip a burger on a grill with a spatula ducked taped to his wrecker boom. I know he was proud he did I it and ticked off folks they owed him some money.
Posted just to bring a little smile to you tonight.
We do have a few buddies hanging around together....first one was Tigger who has a buddy around.

Deb came home and told me what I consider my stepmother passed away this morning as well. Now those 2 knuckleheads have company to keep a hand on them.

I was trying to remember when Ron flipped the burger with a wrecker. NOW I remember, it was at your cookout the year I had the honor to attend. Good times and good people and then there was KGR and a burger. LMAO

 

[Daybreak]

Howdy,

I had the privilege to meet Ron in person. At first we exchanged screen names to know who each other was. I knew Ron as 73m819. There might be many sides to Ron.

I would say there is a softer side of Ron. While at my place briefly, He really liked all my barn cats.

 

[zout]

Thank you Chaplin. Both you and I have had a couple discussions over the years and I have enjoyed them. I am just glad when we left the rallies I still had a dog that was not Ron's lunch.

I would imagine Swiss will have a donation pot available whenever we have a get together for Ron's party.

 

[swiss]

Lucille Harris Thank You

Please read below Lucille's feedback to everyone. I am posting on her behalf so fighting the computer is one less thing she has to worry about:

Lucille Harris message to the SS Community

To the entire SS group, words can not say just how much I appreciate all of you. Thank you all so very much from the bottom of my heart for all the support you have given my family through this tragic time in our life. You have all touched my heart so deeply and I am forever thankful. This wonderful group has given so much to Ron and the many many friends he has! Thank you all.

Ron was my soul mate, partner and best friend and will forever be missed.

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

Please read below Lucille's feedback to everyone. I am posting on her behalf so fighting the computer is one less thing she has to worry about:

Lucille Harris message to the SS Community

To the entire SS group, words can not say just how much I appreciate all of you. Thank you all so very much from the bottom of my heart for all the support you have given my family through this tragic time in our life. You have all touched my heart so deeply and I am forever thankful. This wonderful group has given so much to Ron and the many many friends he has! Thank you all.

Ron was my soul mate, partner and best friend and will forever be missed.

Thank you, swiss for passing that along to us all.

And, thank you for stepping up as you have. I know this was never a promise to Ron that you ever really wanted to deploy on. Yet, in as much as the Lord called our brother Ron home, he placed you precisely where He wanted You to be - standing as the "Best Man" for our brother's bride.

Lucille,
You are our sister here. And there's a whole battalion of Steel Soldiers who have got your back. In Christ-like love, and by virtue of this brotherhood, we ARE family.
We love you.

On behalf of ALL the SS,
John (& Dianna) Bariou
SS Chaplain
San Angelo, TX

 

[Scar59]

Well said Chaplain.

 

[BenRoberts]

. Let's all toast our classes to kgr

 

[Scar59]

Here-here Ben Roberts, I have a burbon on the rocks going. Here is to Ron, he will be missed.

 

[simp5782]

I actually stopped by an Arbys today and bought some Arby Jr's and Apple turnovers. Only thing is that they did have the icing on it. Ron did not like the icing on the turnovers but he loved Arby Jr's.

 

[rchalmers3]

Ron's life, his passion for MV's and for helping others had an absolutely WORLDWIDE reach.

This was a perfect way for me to contribute to the remembrance of this man. I am pretty sure only a few of you know that Ron did the recovery and delivery preparation of the very first HETT to be successfully imported into Australia. The first and only thus far!

During the purchase, EUC processing, recovery and export preparation, I learned about Ron the man, and how he saw the world. I fondly recall the Aussie client explaining to me his wonderment regarding Ron's sureness of his own opinion. In his fashion, Ron got the truck done and loaded out to port, and I am a better SS member and person for working with him and listening to his experience and knowledge. I wish I could have attended this past summers Georgia Rally, having just moved to the area. Clearly I literally missed the opportunity of a lifetime.

Here is an article on the HETT owner, doing good for the community in Western Aus, and a recent bit of work in Queensland as well. You can see the truck in the background of some of the images:

https://www.busseltonmail.com.au/st...alvage-crew-return-from-qld-tv-stars/#slide=2

Rick

 

[Swamp Donkey]

https://youtu.be/E6OFHB3yiHc

These were some pictures and video I took at the GA Rally 2017...I think it was 2017. I only got to see Ron at the rallys but we talked on the phone and the forum a good bit. I spent 2 hours talking to him, the day these pictures were taken, about BART and all the engineering that went into it.

Ron always suprised me with his knowledge and intellect. The suprising part wasn't the amount of each, but the fact that he wasn't afraid to say "I don't know" if he didn't know the answer to something. He also wasn't afraid to ask questions of things that he didn't have an answer. He was always learning even when sharing his own knowledge. A rare trait these days.

Ron was also a sticker for the details. In our conversation about BART, I hammered him with question after question. The build itself was more than impressive...but the amount of attention to detail is what truely impressed me the most. He had a reason why every little bolt was where it was, and why every little hose was placed here and on and on. He was a master perfectionist...and that's the highest compliment an apprentice perfectionist, like myself, can give.

BART is just one example though. He was impressive in many other ways as well...

I remember at that same rally that Ron, Wes and I were sitting in the back of Wes's truck just talking about random stuff. He got to talking about Wes's winch that he had mounted in the bed. For the next hour, we got a lecture on rigging, specifications of the wire rope and winch, speed of the winch and rated GPM, rated pull at different flow rates, etc, etc. I learned like 50 new things from that single conversation. That was Ron...after talking to him you always walked away feeling a little smarter. That's one of the things that made his personality unique.

Ron, rest in peace brother. You'll be missed, but always remembered.

 

[swiss]

Swampy I am in tears, if you can image I talked to him every day coming home from work and we reviewed, argued, discussed and most of the time I listened on the days events of the project he was working on. You beautifully summed up some many hours of conversations and interactions that will truly be missed by everyone . I will list out one day the each of the projects he was working on and probably miss a few hundred.

rchalmers3, the prep time to get this HETT to Australia was crazy, at one time we had 5 HETT's on my property and it got so bad we could not even move around the roads as they were parked everywhere. I would use them to compact the forest roads as they could go anywhere and the weight was great to compact the Georgia clay.

 

[EMD567]

I just now have the time to write about Ron. My mother passed away just a few days before Ron's accident, and I have been totally consumed trying to get her affairs in order.
Ferro called and told me about the accident, and I thought he was pulling my leg, but he was not. Ron was a great friend, really way more then I thought. Last year, when I broke down on I20 going to the Ga Rally, I tried everything I could to get going again. Nothing worked, and as it turned out, i didn't have what I need to fix the truck, even if I knew what was wrong with it. I called Ron, knowing that he was already at the rally site, and told him of my problems. Ron dropped everything, and I mean everything, to come out and rescue my tired, pissed off ass off the side of I20.
He got my truck to the rally site, and then we helped me get to the point where i could sleep in my hooch. I offered to help him set up camp, but no, we were both worn out, and he was just gonna sleep in the cab of the 931. I offered the other bed in the hooch-he wouldn't hear of it. The next day, we finished setting up camp, and then started working on the 814. Once we found the problem(pickup tube was broken off in the fuel tank), he devised a dead simple fix, and helped me install it, to get the 814 running again. Then, when the 814 died again going home, he came back out, and dragged my mess back to the rally site.
We were always the first to the rally, and I enjoyed the quiet nights before the rally geared up. We would sit around the fire, and Ron would get to the "feeling no pain stage" on my whiskey. I always considered it a fair trade- Ron would tell stories about the war, life in California, and his travels around the states. He always had a project going, and was pleased that he was doing stuff that no one else had thought of.

Rest in Peace my dear friend. I will raise one in your honor at the fire, and I will always have an empty chair for you to come sit in at the rally.

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

I just now have the time to write about Ron. My mother passed away just a few days before Ron's accident, and I have been totally consumed trying to get her affairs in order.

EMD567:
I'm sure I speak for everyone here....
We send our most sincere condolences to you and yours on your mother's passing. Just hadn't heard until now.
Our prayers now include all of y'all. Please holler if you need anything that we can provide.
In HIS service,
John
SS Chaplain

 

[swbradley1]

Thanks to Doghead for his mad search skills at finding a meme I made just because of KGR back in 2013.




Why yes it is the helmet that went through a CUCV windshield. Hence the reason for KGR calling me.

 

[doghead]

Prayers for Ron, R.I.P. 73m819

So today I was in town getting a few groceries (pre winter storm). When I pulled out of the parking lot I thought about grabbing something at a drive-thru for lunch(never grocery shop when you're hungry). I decided to go to Arby's because of the post about Ron liking Arby's jr sandwiches.

As I walked in, I realized I was the only customer there. This is a small town but it still seemed a bit odd.

I looked over the menu but could not find it listed. So, I asked. The girl at the counter said they are no longer on the menu(discontinued).

I then told her why I had wanted one, and quickly tried to make another choice.

She said, wait just a second, and went in the back.

When she came back she said they knew how to make one and would for me!

She asked for my name for my order. Without hesitation I started to say Walter(the name I use at for all fast-food orders) but stopped short and said to her, "let's use Ron today". She smiled and rang me up.

I sat with my lunch and thought about Ron. Lot's of thoughts and lots of smiles...

When I got up after I was done eating, I went to toss my garbage in the trash and leave, and realized the place was still totally empty and it had been completely silent while I had sat at my table enjoying my thoughts and lunch.

I again thanked the girl as I turned for the door, but first I rang the bell(for great service).

Ron lives on...

fwiw, my name is not Walter, but I can tell you a funny story if you ask me around a camp-fire(about using that name).

 

[Brian Harris]

Thank you, I'm am absolutely crushed.
I haven't seen my father in 20 years but we talked every week.
I struggled between my family life here at home to figure out how to see him and give the biggest hug. It is a shame that I have to see him this way. He was a great man , a good father and a man's man. Thank you.