Ronald Bruce Tuggle

RON TUGGLE (January 13, 1939 – June 3, 2021).

As a Summersville, Missouri cattleman and rancher, Ron Tuggle normally would have been thinking about making hay or working calves on a warm June day. This hard-working man still had plenty of jobs to do but complications from Alzheimers disease ended his life on June 3 ^rd at the age of 82.

He left behind his wife (of almost 58 years), Heather Tuggle, who will continue their love of raising livestock on their farm in Summersville. Ron is also survived in legacy by his children, Trisha and Jeff Hank of Aledo, IL, Troy and Gloria Tuggle of Summersville, MO, and Tye and Garen Tuggle of Vancouver, WA; his grandchildren, Carson (Gabrielle) Hank, Gage Hank, and Sheridan Hank of Aledo, IL, and Edmund Salvati and Dane Tuggle of Vancouver, WA; and great grandsons, Vaughn Hank of Aledo, IL, and Wesley Salvati of Vancouver, WA.

Ron died a treasured and respected man. He was a giving man with unshakable convictions. Was he a patient man? Absolutely not, but he was known for his honesty and integrity. A man so talented with numbers, he calculated large equations in his head but still carried paper and ink pens with him at all times to track data. A generous man so committed to his adopted retirement community of Summersville Missouri, that he was the notorious winner of the top pie at every fundraising benefit-auction. A man who treasured each day spent with Heather checking cows.

Of course we, his family, didn’t know him his entire life, but we heard the childhood stories of his upbringing in Commerce, Michigan by fun-loving John Tuggle and no-nonsense Dorotha Tuggle. He was raised working at his Dad’s road-side produce stand. He was a natural athlete, spending summers swimming and winters playing ice hockey on the Lower Straits Lake, and playing high school football.  Ron enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1956 as a Kiddie Cruise fellow (a designation to those joining prior to their 18 ^th birthday) eventually serving on the Special Intelligence Operations Team (a spot he believes he was chosen for based on his Boy Scout knowledge of Morse Code) and was stationed on an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean Sea.

Ron married his fellow farm and animal-loving wife, Heather, on June 23, 1963. They worked as a team to save money to buy their first place – a centennial farm and historical farmhouse in Fowlerville, Michigan. Ron worked at Ford Motor Company and Honeywell before landing a position in Fowlerville at Premier Corporation where, in the early age of computers, he was a pioneer in the development of a COBOL data base for the tracking of Premier’s cattle business. He later worked in data processing for the State of Michigan Department of Corrections.

Ron had high expectations for his family, but with that came unending support. He followed sons, Troy and Tye, and their record-setting track and cross-country careers, attending every meet possible. He and his family were committed to raising and showing competitive livestock. One of his proudest achievements was raising a purebred Suffolk ewe – “Diamond Girl” – exhibited in 1984 by daughter, Trisha, who was named Overall Champion Ewe at the Suffolk Junior Nationals and the North American International in Louisville, and Supreme Ewe at 5 Midwestern State Fairs.

Upon retirement in 1999, Ron spent the rest of his life fixing fence, helping neighbors make hay, and tracking data – weather, cattle, or the stock market. He continued to serve as a valuable advisor to his children and grandchildren. Ron’s military origins probably are why many of his family members quoted his most recited advice, “give information on a need-to-know basis only.” He was recognized for his wise, steady, common-sense guidance. He was a proud patriot and was passionate in political discussions. His love for ice cream was long-standing.

Ron was preceded in death by his parents, John and Dorotha Tuggle, and his sister, Roxann Cox.

Heather offers heartfelt appreciation to their Summersville neighbors for their recent help. Ron sure didn’t like self-attention and chose that there not be a public service for him. Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or to Hospice. Or perhaps consider an unexpected or unsolicited act of kindness or gesture of generosity in his memory. That was Ron’s style.