This morning sad news filtered out of the woodlands of Tug Hill that Ronny Bumpus had passed away. It seems this larger than life friend of ours was stricken while leaving a logging job in Florence, and his coworker was unable to resuscitate him. Ronald L. Bumpus was born on the forth of July 1955 the son of Lloyd & Frances (Dominick) Bumpus. He attended Redfield and Sandy Creek Schools. During his youth he lived in the heart of downtown Redfield where his father built a ranch house. From his earliest days Ronny was always interested in the Tug Hill region and its people. He regularly tagged along with his father while he was logging, and learned the forests and streams of the region from Lloyd, as well as many old time loggers. Ron spent many hours of his youth talking with old timers in his hometown, and he could retell many of the tales told by Characters of the Tug such as Tug Hill Charles Elkin, Rex Noble, Ike Yerdon, Burdette Tug Warren, Waldo Caster and Henry Caster.......to name a few..... From these and others Ronny learned the nearly lost art of storytelling......Ron could recite a joke or a tale at great length and detail. His stories were broad and full of color, and were supported always by his deep knowledge and love of local history. Rons life also was just short of an adventure: He was an accomplished logger, a nationally known diver who specialized in underwater construction projects, he spent some time as a day trader in the 90s (His Redfield Stock Market Headquarters was fascinating!) ...The locations of his employment covered the USA from sea to sea, South America and Canada......the list of jobs and locations goes on....Ron was a restless spirit and seldom stayed very long at a particular job, but he always left his mark, and was always popular among his coworkers.....He was a true Jack of all trades Many of us would laugh at...or with Ron when he was into a new fad or kick special diets, money making schemes, exercise regimes.......If I could only count the conversations over 20 years of knowing Ron that began I ran into Ronny Bumpus the other day, youll never guess what hes doing now....... Among his family Ron leaves three beautiful daughters,: Liberty Bumpus, Hannah Renouf and Marissa, who have grown into very special, talented women of whom he was very proud, and always spoke warmly, of when he saw his friends.... The friends whom Ron leaves behind are a numerous.......Ron could go a few years without seeing someone and walk in a room and pick right up on the last conversation, the last time spent together. This writer worked with Ron at Fitzpatrick Plant for a few years, and spent many long hours there swapping stories. Ron was at his best with three or four friends gathered around a table, swapping stories and adventures. On a couple of occasions Ron graced our table for dinner with a select group of friends, these nights were lively and full of laughter...and are very memorable! Ron spent several occasions at Half Shire, looking up things, looking at our artifacts, and dancing when we used to have more frequent parties.....We have a classic video of him at one such dance in the fall of 2000 that will forever be one of my favorite times out with friends....... Ron was too young to be taken from us, but he left this world on a spectacular autumn day, and his last breaths were taken among the crisp fall leaves of a Florence forest after a day of logging.......The Lord knew for Ron to leave this world, it would just have to be this way...... Rest in Peace Ron Bumpus......
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 21:28:43 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015