From David Goldberg:
David Brown informed me yesterday (April 5) that our good friend, Ronnie Thomas, has passed away. David found Ronnie yesterday unresponsive. The cause of death is unknown at this point but David says that Ronnie complained of some pretty serious health issues last week, including a potential small stroke that she had had recently. Other than that, he said she was in pretty good spirits. An autopsy will be forthcoming.
Ronnie moved to Fort Collins, to the best of my remembrance, 5 or 6 years ago, and joined our club. As you all know, Scrabble(r) was her passion and she was quite an accomplished player. She also was a unique individual who certainly walked to the beat of her own drummer. Though this often brought up challenges for her and those in her world, I, personally think we were all better people for what she brought to our lives. And I’m proud of how our club members did their best to include and accept Ronnie in all of our gatherings. I now wish I had extended myself more to Ronnie as we had a close personal connection, which in hindsight could have been stronger on my part. Live and learn but life is short.
I am particularly grateful to David Brown for the rock-solid friendship he offered to Veronica. I was always impressed with how David was there for Ronnie through thick and thin. Thank you David.
Thanks all for taking a few moments to read this. I am sad and humbled in remembering and honoring my friend Ronnie.
Dave
From Ronnie’s brother, Fred:
Dear Family and Friends,
Yesterday evening (4/5) Carol and I were notified by our county coroner that Veronica’s body was found by her close friend, David Brown, in her apartment a few hours earlier. She passed away from natural causes the evening before on April 4, sometime after 8 pm is what has been surmised. She died much too young at the age of 56. She has gone to her maker and to be with our parents, Fred and Kay, who loved and cared for her for a lifetime. Our understanding is that she passed quickly from what appears to have been a brain seizure. We pray her passing was peaceful and without pain. All indications are that this was the case.
Veronica moved to Colorado from Maryland shortly before our Mother passed away in June of 2016. Her path through life was sometimes too hard but always full of her giving love to others. In Fort Collins, she continued to play Scrabble(r) multiple times a week, knit apparel and blankets for family and folks that were less fortunate at the homeless shelter, as well as attend community learning venues directed at finding our way in life. Veronica had a very big heart. She loved family and all people without judgment. She will be missed dearly by all in her family for her concern for others, a listening ear, positive attitude, caring /loving demeanor, her resilience, and the example she set for her family on how to treat others. We will miss you eternally, Veronica.
A service to celebrate her life will be held here in Fort Collins in the early summer. I will update when a date and venue is determined. We are then working to have her inurnment with, Fred and Kay at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington VA, later in the year. Veronica and her family request, in lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy be sent in the form of a donation to The Murphy Center for Hope in Fort Collins (http://murphycenter.org/donate) or SummitStone Health Partners (https://www.summitstonehealth.org/how-to-give/.)
Love and fond wishes to you all,
Fred, Carol, Keegan, and Riley
Thomas