Obituary of Ronald S. Compton

Ronald Stanley Compton, 68, passed away unexpectedly and peacefully at home on Feb. 2, 2009. He was born Oct. 24, 1940, in Seattle to Stanley and Mary Compton. He attended Seattle schools and was a yell king at Franklin High School; his father's job transfer his senior year led him to graduate from North Central High School in Spokane in 1958. He attended and ran track at Eastern Washington University the following year; he returned to college 30 years later for a baking chemistry certification at Kansas State University. He married Michel Gravley in 1960 and together they raised their three children in south Seattle. His brief career as a jockey's apprentice at Longacres Race Track ended with serious racing injuries incurred on the day his youngest child was born in 1963. He then worked as a baker at Wonder Bread for 40 years, retiring as assistant production manager. Years after his marriage ended, he found love again on the job. He married Kathleen Belanger in 1993 and helped raise her two children as his own at their Lake Tapps home. He was an avid outdoorsman who loved pheasant hunting, waterskiing, camping and salmon fishing. Some of his most peaceful moments were walking a ditch bank in Eastern Washington or a beach in Mexico. Ron is survived by his wife, Kathy; children Connie (Ralph) Mennie of Stanwood, Tom Compton of Pacific, Jim (Rachelle) Compton of Bonney Lake, Jeff (Olga Martinez) Belanger of Camp Pendleton, Calif., and Kari (Robert) Ickes of Tacoma; sister Joyce (Bob) Pirolo of Redondo; grandchildren Zack, Becky, Jake, Angela, Savannah, Stanley, Joshua, Ramon, Sabrina and Mia; nephews Rob (Joan) Pirolo of Tacoma and Greg Pirolo of Edgewood, nieces Pam (Tony) Friscioni of Burnaby, B.C., and Denise (Jeff Johnson) Pirolo of Seattle; and special friends Frances (Jim) Duma of Anderson Island, Dena (Tom) Stevenson of Arizona, and Fred and Carol Stroppa of Seattle. He made friends easily and treasured them; strangers were friends he hadn't yet met. A viewing will be held on Friday Feb. 6, 5-8 p.m. at Curnow Funeral Home, 1410 Main St. Sumner. A funeral will be held on Saturday February 7, 11 a.m. at the Sumner United Methodist Church, 901 Wood Ave. Sumner. Interment will follow at Riverton Crest Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the American Diabetes Association.