June 6, 2006

Artesia News

Former Artesia Mayor - Ron Oliver Passes at 73


Ronald Harold Oliver, 73, passed peacefully away in Eagle, Idaho surrounded by his family at St. Luke's in the town of Meridian (also in Idaho).  Oliver was elected five times as an Artesia city councilmember and also served five times as mayor from 1974 to 1997.

Ron graduated grew up in Idaho, graduating from Boise High School in 1950 and then took of for California with three friends; Carmel Good, Bill Jensen, and Tiny” Zimmerman. 

They all attended Woodbury College in Los Angeles where Oliver joined the Phi Theta Pi Fraternity and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree.  It was in college that Ron met Kathryn Scism and shortly afterward married on November 28, 1952. 

Ron also attended Cal State Long Beach and received a Bachelor's degree in Science.

Ron and Kathy have two daughters, Ronda Kay and Tamara Rae Dycks.  Ron and Kathy lived in California for 53 years and recently moved to Idaho in 2003 to be closer to family, especially his mother Sadie.

Ron was drafted into the army during the Korean War.  He was stationed in San Francisco as a Staff Sergeant working in the Audit Agency.  After his two-year term he went to work for North American Rockwell for 15 years in the Apollo Program.  After Rockwell, Ron began acquiring Baskin Robbins in Cerritos and Long Beach, and also owned several restaurants in both California and Idaho.  The last businesses he bought were two Dairy Queens, and then he retired.

Ron had a gift for public service and, realizing this, dedicated his life to it.  He started as a member of the Artesia-Cerritos Lions Club in 1964 where he served as director, president, 4 H-2 Zone Chairman and District Youth Cahirman.  Even after moving to Eagle, he immediately joined and participated in the Eagles-Lions Club.

According to family, there are three words that describe Ron; dignity, integrity, and honor.  He was a man of his word and possessed a strong work ethic.  He was well read and was involved in a multitude of projects and investments.

In 1974, he was appointed to Artesia's City Council and for the next 20 years served on the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority for Contract Cities, Director of Southeast Mosquito Abatement, Director of Sanitation, and Director of the League of California Cities.

One of his most important achievements was the development of the city's co-generation facility, which generated electricity that the city sold to Southern California Edison.  Ron also initiated in the city of Artesia property acquisitions for local parks and for the residences removal of the general city property tax, sewer maintenance tax and trash pick-up fee.  He was known as Artesia's most famous TV star on the Meet the Mayor program that brought recognition to the City of Artesia.

Ron loved life and fought hard to stay alive at the end. His daughters remember him as a loving, caring and very generous man. His friends and family say they could also count on seeing his reassuring face at every event that took place in their lives, and that he was always there to guide them in the right direction.

He would always take his grandsons to the ice cream store.  His grandsons could always count on him to be standing on the sidelines at their sporting events.

Ron loved ice cream so much that his family and friends will always remember him as the Ice Cream Man.  While he liked all ice cream, his personal favorite was chocolate peanut butter.

Ron is survived by the love of his life, Kathy and his two daughters, his grandsons Jonathan and Camden, his brothers Stan and Steve Oliver, and others residing in Boise, Idaho.


 

 

 

 

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