Ronald J Malecki

Ronald J. Malecki

Today, November 20, 2023 we announce the passing of Ronald “Ron” Malecki, age 85, after a hard-fought and courageous battle with cancer. A visitation will take place at St. Catherine of Alexandria Church in Milwaukee from 11:00 am – 12:45 pm on Monday, November 27th. A funeral Mass at the church will begin at 1:00 pm with inurnment to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations to the St. Catherine’s Food Pantry in Ron’s name are appreciated.

Ron was born on May 20, 1938 to Eleanor (Kniola) and John Malecki and grew up in Michigan City, Indiana with his loving parents and younger brother Kenneth. Ron attended Elston High School and graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1960. On November 5, 1966, Ron married the love of his life, Patricia “Pat” Zwierzynski. Pat would always say that she felt like the luckiest girl in the world to be married to Ron. Their marriage was blessed with beloved 3 children - Ann, Randy, and Connie.

Beginning his engineering career in St. Joseph, Michigan, Ron worked for Whirlpool Corporation. After a few years, in 1973, he and Pat moved their young family to Brown Deer, Wisconsin, where they raised their family while Ron continued to work as an engineer for Autrol Corporation in Glendale, Control Products in Grafton, and most recently, Rockwell International in Milwaukee, before retiring in 2004.

Ron was a kind and gentle soul whose love and pride for his family, including his 6 grandchildren, was especially evident to all who knew him. He was a great Dad and father-in-law and whether it was taking Drew to the Museum or wood building to spark his interest in Engineering, assisting Jason with his Pinewood Derby Cub Scout car, golfing with Ryan and Aaron, attending Tripp’s hockey games, or reading to Violet, he always made them feel like they were special and loved.

Ron’s faith was very important to him, but he never pushed his view on others. He was a member of various church committees, including holding a position as an officer of the Holy Name Society for many years. He loved singing and the comradery of the St. Catherine’s church choir for over 25 years and viewed his fellow choir members as a second family.

The only thing that rivaled the love of his family and church, was Ron’s passion for golf. Always supportive of the rest of his foursome, Ron would often poke fun at himself by lamenting that his game was “never the greatest.” His goal over the last few years was always to get well enough so that he could play another round of golf…and one afternoon this past summer he was able to tee it up one last time with Pat.

Despite his ailments during the past 5 years Ron was always upbeat and positive – he was never deflated or bitter. The closest he ever came to saying how poorly he felt was “so-so”. Ron was a kind man with a sweet and gentle disposition. He always displayed kindness and compassion to everyone he came across, leading him to accumulate a large circle of friends over the years.

Ron is survived by his loving wife and best friend of 57 years, Pat (Zwierzynski), daughter Ann (Michael) Miller, son Randall, and daughter Connie (Rick) Hanson. He is further survived by brother Kenneth, grandchildren Drew, Ryan, and Aaron Miller, Tripp and Violet Hanson and many other relatives and friends. He is preceded in death by grandson Jason Miller.