Beloved husband, father, grandfather, uncle and friend to many, passed away peacefully at his home following a brief but courageous battle against recurrent malignant melanoma. Survivors include his wife of 37 years, Jacqueline; daughter, Kerry and husband Justin, and their son, Liam Racht of Warwick, RI; son, Brian and fiancee, Amanda Wells, of Washington, DC; and son, Patrick and wife, McGraw, of Spokane. Other survivors include a brother, Peter (Shelley) of Twain Harte, CA and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by a brother, Barry, and his parents. Ron was born to Albert and Mildred Donovan. He grew up in Palo Alto, CA; attended St. Francis High School in Mountain View, CA graduating with honors in 1963. While there, he played basketball and baseball and was named to the All-League and All-Mid-Peninsula basketball teams his senior year. In 1967, Ronald graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara. While at UCSB, he played two years of intercollegiate basketball followed by two years of intercollegiate volleyball. He was in the Army ROTC program; commissioned as a 2LT in June, 1967; attended Armor Officer Basic at Ft. Knox, KY; earned his Ranger tab in March, 1968 and later successfully completed Airborne training. Ron was stationed in Germany for two years with the 3rd Armored Division and 8th Infantry Division (Airborne). From 1970-71, he served in Vietnam as an Adviser in the Central Highlands at the National Police Field Force Training Center. While in Vietnam, he received the Bronze Star, Joint Service Commendation Medal, and the Vietnamese Police Honor Medal. Another 23 years were spent in the Army Reserves from which he retired as a LTC. Upon his return from Vietnam, he returned to UCSB for his teaching credential and in subsequent years, received a Masters Degree in Counseling from Gonzaga University and Masters of Education from Whitworth. He served as a graduate assistant basketball coach at UCSB and Gonzaga; later coaching high school boys' basketball as a head coach for a total of 10 years, earning GSL Coach of the Year honors in 1985-86. He also served as Athletic Director and Men's Basketball Coach at Saint Mary's University in Winona, MN for five years. Ron taught Math at three high schools in Spokane (Gonzaga Prep, North Central and Shadle Park) during his 25 years of involvement in education in Spokane. He earned his Secondary administrative Certification from Gonzaga University and did extensive work in Math for the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Washington State Math Council. For the past two years, he was employed with OSPI and at the time of his death served as Coordinator of Middle and High School Mathematics Professional Development. Special memories of Ron include his passion for life and family, his love of music and dancing, Mexican food and chicken teriyaki, golf and spectator sports, and hiking and traveling. Mass of Christian Burial were held March 7, 2008 at Assumption Parish. Contributions in memory of Ronald E. Donovan may be sent to The Melanoma Research Foundation, 170 Township Line Road, Building B, Hillsborough, NJ 08844