Visitation on Monday, September 26, 2022 from 8:00-9:00 AM at St. George Serbian Orthodox Church, Schererville, IN. Funeral services will follow at 9:00 AM. After church, a burial service will take place at St. Sava Monastery in Libertyville, IL.
Ron was born in 1940, in East Chicago, Indiana. Youngest of 3, he grew up playing basketball in the alley and listening to WWII stories from newly arrived immigrants. He graduated from East Chicago Washington High School and was captain and leading scorer of the Senators, winning the 1960 State Championship. He earned a scholarship to play basketball at Michigan State University and later a Masters Degree from Indiana University. He was employed at several high schools before landing at Griffith High School where he taught, counseled students with substance abuse problems and coached basketball and cross country for many years.
Ron loved Slavonic liturgical music and was asked to teach it to the youth, which they learned in one summer. Ron became choir director for the newly formed St. George Bishop Stevan Lastavica Choir. It was there he met Sally Mileusnich, marrying her in 1971, and they raised three children together.
Ron was a founding member of St. George Serbian Orthodox Church in Schererville, IN, where he served on the building committee as financial chairman.
Ron’s passion for teaching and working with youth led him back to St. Sava Monastery, where he had attended camp as a youngster to eventually become camp director. To raise money for the monastery, he co-created a documentary, “Mardarije’s Dream,” presenting it to many parishes across the country. He was the SNF basketball tournament chairman for Schererville and coached his daughters’ teams several times. Late in life he enjoyed investing in real estate, a venture he shared with his son and best friend, Michael.
He is a three-time inductee to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame as an individual and as part of his high school team.Basketball remained a lifelong love, and he coached his daughter Kristina for many years before she became an All-American collegiate athlete. He participated in a documentary about his state championship team, “We Are EC.” In retirement, he wrote “Anatomy of a Jump Shot,” while conducting many clinics and private lessons for kids. He then turned his coaching attention to his grandchildren, a source of pride and excitement until his final days. He loved his family wholeheartedly, especially any moment with his beloved grandchildren.
