Obituary of Ronald Hathorn

Ronald W. Hathorn 1939 - 2014 Ronald W. Hathorn, 74, passed away peacefully on Friday, March 21 at his home after a three year battle with melanoma. Ron was a kind and gentle man who was taken away from us much too early. Ron was born November 21, 1939 in Portland, Oregon to Harold and Edna Hathorn. He was installed as a master councilor of the Hillsboro, Oregon Order of DeMolay and graduated from Hillsboro High School in 1958. Ron met Lois Kieling while attending Oregon State College in Corvallis, Oregon and they were married on November 25, 1961. They spent 52 wonderful years together sharing many adventures and enjoying the accomplishments of their family. Ron was in the Army Reserves from 1962 to 1967 and stationed at Fort Ord in California during basic training. Ron and Lois were blessed with two children, Laura in 1965 and David in 1967. They lived in Aloha, Oregon where he supervised operations for the City of Aloha Sewage Treatment Plant. In 1974 Ron moved his family to Boise where he continued his career and began working for the City of Boise managing operations for the Lander Street Sewage Treatment Plant. He was promoted to superintendent and had responsibility for managing operations at Lander Street and the new West Boise plant, which he helped to design and develop. He was a lifetime member of the Water Environment Federation. Among the many awards he received in his distinguished career, he was recognized by the Water Pollution Control Federation with the William D. Hatfield Award, the highest award presented in the industry, for outstanding performance in work operations, management and advancement of knowledge in the field of water pollution control. He also received the Joseph R. Koon Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997 for exceptional leadership and advancing education of wastewater operators in the State of Idaho. Ron retired in 2002 after 30 years of service to the City of Boise. Ron and Lois were also entrepreneurs and owned and operated The Woodshed, a hardwood lumber business, from 1998 to 2008. They manufactured laminations for bowyers and as word got out about the excellent and precise product they produced, demand increased from bowyers around the world. The Woodshed also offered exotic and domestic hardwood lumber for turners, carvers, furniture builders and hobbyists. Ron and Lois enjoyed taking their trailer to the mountains and traveling to the Oregon Coast. Their family spent many fun summers in the mountains camping, fishing, gold panning, riding dirt bikes and exploring the history of many areas, especially in the Stanley area. He shared many good times with his family and especially enjoyed spending time with his granddaughters. Throughout his life, Ron enjoyed many hobbies and had many interests (he even built a boat). He was always finding new projects to work on and had a variety of interesting collections. Ron and Lois were in the Model A Club, the T-Bird Club and the Chariots Club. Ron and Lois are grateful for the many friends they have made throughout the years and for the good memories of the times spent with them. The family would like to thank hospice and the caregivers with A Caring Hand for their support and care. Ron is survived by his loving wife, Lois; his daughter Laura Cobb; his son David, daughter-in-law Vicki and three granddaughters, Meghan and Alexis Cobb and Haylee Hathorn. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society or a favorite charity in memory of Ron. Services will be held at 10:30am on Friday, March 28 at Summers Funeral Home, 3629 E. Ustick Rd., Meridian. A reception will immediately follow and graveside service (optional) will be at 3:00pm at Dry Creek Cemetery.