Our little Community was rocked this last week with the news that RonathanPxPx passed away suddenly. The news hit me like a brick wall and it took some time for me to be able to process what happened. While Ron was not “officially” part of our Canadian Crew, he was about as close to it as someone could be… even earning himself an official “Honourary Canadian” title. We talked it over as a group and agreed that we wanted to share some memories and thoughts about this fine gentleman. He was a shining example of what makes this Community great, and his family deserves to know what a special person he was.
For those that did not have a chance to know him, you missed out. Ron was one of the most genuine human beings that I have ever had the pleasure of having in my life. You could talk to him about anything from gaming to religion and politics and always enjoy the conversation. His inappropriate jokes and comments always brought a smile to my face.
He was an active member of the Dice Masters Community in Southern California as well as online. Ron was a great player and always put together well built Teams. He was an absolute joy to play against as well as to watch play. I have rarely seen a player with such patience when up against some more “challenging” opponents. Ron worked with special needs kids and always said they taught him the patience needed to deal with gamers.
Ron participated in many of the online Dice Masters tournaments, and became one of the background voices for the recent Two Team Takedown rebirth. He joined in on rules debates and always did his best to maintain the integrity of the game. His voice helped evolve the format to always make it as player friendly as possible.
Ron was a semi-regular participant in our Saturday night board gaming sessions. He was my type of player, who was never afraid to embrace the chaos and worry about the consequences afterwards. I always enjoyed playing whatever game with him, but have particular fondness for our Flash Point: Fire Rescue nights. Any fire fighter who smashes walls down with reckless abandon is ok in my books. His presence will be sorely missed going forward on game night.
He became an official member of the CR Gameroom and helped fight for the rights of Spumoni lovers everywhere. Always knowledgeable in the ways of nerdom, he was a pleasure to watch with the other CRGR guys on the Wednesday night live streams. Ron was a great supporter of our little Twitch Community in general. You would always see him popping in on various streams and being super supportive, or an asshole (the good kind) depending on what the situation required.
It is funny to me that Ron was a person that I never had the chance to meet face to face with, but considered him a friend. He was someone that I would always have time for. He will be sorely missed, but will always be a part of our lives going forward.
jourdo
Where do I even begin with this…I was shaken to the core when I heard about Ron’s passing. Ronathan was everything that we should try to be: pleasant, patient, and fundamentally rooted in kindness.
Everything jourdo said about gaming events, I sign off on completely. Ronathan was a fierce but fair competitor, and a kindred spirit to me in that he was driven by the challenge of the game. Whether it was a casual match or the Finals of a Two-Team Takedown, he’d always play his best, and he’d want you to do the same. He earned my respect, and then some.
Mind you, all sense of competition flew out of the window when we were doing the CR Gameroom Friday night shenanigans. Whether he was leading his teammates to the assassin in Codenames (or giving the hint “Spumoni” to throw everyone off), or being the infamous “Detective Ronathan” in Goose Goose Duck and Among Us (often making completely wrong accusations…on purpose if he was the impostor), he always made the night fun and brought a smile to everyone’s face.
Even outside of gaming, he was always a pleasure to talk to, and he was more patient with me than I had any right to ask or expect. He was always kind and supportive when I needed a listening ear.
I feel I should apologize to his wife Erika. Sorry that we took him away from you so much. But thank you for sharing this amazing human being with our community.
If I have one regret, it’s that I never got to meet him in person. He’s the kind of guy I would’ve loved to have over for gaming, beer and laughs. But hey, maybe on the other side one day.
I miss you already man. I really, really do.
ccm00007
When I heard the news about Ron, I was shocked. We lost someone special in the community.
I knew Ron from playing Dice Masters and Board Games. He always had an upbeat, happy and cheerful presence. He was always helpful without question.
Erika, my deepest condolences. Ron will truly be missed.
SuperK
The way I felt about you is something I didn’t think I would ever have to put to paper because I could always tell and then you would make an inappropriate remark and we would all laugh. That is how I will remember you, as someone who never wanted things to be too serious and wanted everyone to have fun. When I was having trouble with my new dog and how she was kind of a jerk you gave me advice that really changed things for us for the better with the dog. When you played Dice Masters or MTG you played very skillfully and had a mind to want to understand how others played so you could see why they did things when they played so you could help them or figure out a way to improve yourself as a player.
You always had a smile on your face while streaming with a group or by yourself, it didn’t matter if you were by yourself or with a group you were just there to have fun and entertain. Your energy was overabundant and people wanted to be on your side even if it was spumoni and that was all you had to offer on your side. People still wanted to see if they could capture that energy you had no matter how little it is just trying something you suggested they just wanted to make sure they were not missing out on that spark you had at all times. I always feel unworthy of people calling me a friend and have an issue with thinking I am a stop-gap for them until they find someone better than myself to call a friend. With Ronathan I honestly didn’t feel that way I felt like you were genuinely excited and happy to be my friend.
Cheesy (CR Gameroom)
When the CR Gameroom started, we thought we would be just a couple of guys killing time playing a little game called Dice Masters. Who knew it would open the doors to friendships across the globe in places like Canada and the UK. This path introduced us to local friends Ryan and Jo. Then via the web with Mike and Ronathan. These guys honored us by allowing us to call them friends. However, Wednesday August 24, 2022 the world became a sadder place and lost a truly genuine, kind man in our amazing friend Ronathan.
We’d been friends with Ronathan for a few years and was a no brainer choice to join the CRGameroom channel. Out of all the ugliness that was the Pandemic, gaining Ronathan as a true friend was the light at the end of the tunnel. He always radiated a positive energy that was so infectious. There was just something calming about talking to him about movies, tv shows, games, or our personal lives. He always gave great advice and would always consider our opinions or positions on things.
Besides helping us in various ways, out in the physical world he was, in my personal opinion, a hero in his own right. It takes a certain breed of person to teach and care for special needs children. He was that person. You could tell within five minutes of talking to him that he was a special soul. The universe needs more people like him. I hope we can strive to be a sliver of what he was.
We’re going to miss his stories about how some celebrity went to high school with him and they ate Doritos behind the gym or something random like that. He always had a story. He was always the best gamer of all of us and loved to learn the hows and whys of any game. Recently he got into Magic the Gathering with us and we could tell he was going to be awesome at it. We’re going to miss the off stream random Halo, Call of Duty, and Magic sessions that were just for us.
Ronathan gave us the greatness that was Spumoni Gate and it will live on in our community forever. He was all three flavors that make up spumoni in one package. He was an awesome husband, a fantastic friend, and an amazing human being. On behalf of the CRGameroom and the entire community, we’re going to miss you Ronathan the Spumoni King. Your reign will live on in our hearts forever. All hail the Spumoni King.
Rob (CR Gameroom)
We’ve collected the videos that Ronathan joined us in. We wanted to share the person he was and the joy he brought to our lives.
Gone, but never forgotten. Rest in peace Mr. PxPx.
If you have a memory, or two, of Ronathan that you would like to share… please do so in the comments section below. We want to let his wife and family know what Ron meant to our Community.
Those of us in Southern California are still devastated by the passing of our friend. Way too soon. We think about him daily and grieve for his family. Ron was not only one of the best control players to ever roll the dice, but he was a good hearted, kind, and compassionate soul who is already sorely missed. In my head I hear him chuckling across the table as he’s listing of the shenanigans he has in store for me. He used to joke that “steel sharpens steel” as we would line up our teams for what was sure to be another epic, down to the wire struggle. Mo chara… the world is not as sharp without you…
Arge