"The day has come that we can't be together, keep me in your heart, I'll stay there forever." Ronald (Ron) Priest, quietly passed away at the age of 78 on November 26, 2021 at Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo, Michigan surrounded by his wife and two daughters. Ron was a lifelong resident of Allegan County. Born on January 31, 1943 to the late Donald (Don) and Mryna (Butcher) Priest in Allegan, Michigan Ron never moved far from his family roots. Aside from his time in the Army, he lived in Allegan until 1976. At that time, he moved to Martin with his wife and 3 daughters where he resided until his passing. Ron graduated from Hopkins High School in 1961. Soon after graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Army where he served for three years before being honorably discharged. That three years made a very profound impact on Ron's life. Besides his family, there was little that was more important to him than his country, the American Flag, and what it stood for. His Patriotism and love of country was very evident in how he lived every day. If you were lucky enough to know Ron, you knew what an amazing man he was. If you needed a hand, he was the first to volunteer; if there was something that needed to be done around the house, he was handy enough to do it, including rebuilding the engine of his truck (and there were no spare parts when he finished.) In 1962 Ron married his high school sweetheart Margaret (Beard). They recently celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary. Ron and Margaret were blessed with three daughters, who in turn have blessed them with a large extended family. There was nothing that made Ron happier than spending time with his entire family. While it did stress him out a bit, having the whole crew at the family home for holidays was something he truly looked forward to. It would be hard to find a more honest and hardworking man. Throughout his adult life, Ron held several jobs, all of which he was very dedicated to. He gave 110% and rarely missed a day of work. After his military service, Ron held a few short-term jobs until he started work at Eaton Corporation, where he was employed for over 17 years. He worked on the family farm during the summer months (Beard's Produce), was a bus driver and transportation supervisor for Martin Public Schools and finished his employment career as a semi driver. Ron retired in 2007. This freed up his weekends and nights so he could attend the sporting events and activities of his grandchildren. There just wasn't time for work and grand children. Many nights, for years you would see Ron in the stands cheering his grandsons on during their football games. Other favorites were wrestling (he always had a shirt pocket full of his wife's delicious chocolate chip cookies during these) and baseball. Ron loved all his grandchildren equally and even attended events that weren't his favorite, but he was still there. Dance competitions, soccer games, band events and cross-country races. Ron also enjoyed spending time camping with his wife and family, and in his younger years hunting and fishing were on the agenda many weekends and evenings. Over the past several years, Ron has had some health issues and a few almost tragic accidents. He came through each of them, and it was deemed that he had the 9 lives of a cat. He had used 5 of his lives and should have had 4 left. Unfortunately, those 4 lives were all used at once in the end. Ron is survived by his wife, Margaret (Beard) Priest; daughters, Laurie (Dean) Aspeleiter and Leaann (Lloyd) Thomas; son-in-law, James (Jim) Kibby; grandchildren, Jimmy (Courtney) Kibby, Dana (Chy) Kibby, Logan (Lauren) Eding, Kolton Eding, Janna (Austin) Evans, Dylan (Izzy Vail) Schafer, Devin Schafer and Macie Eding; bonus grandchildren, Courtney Aspeleiter, Ryan (Arienne Erhardt) Aspeleiter and Kelly Jo (Kelly) Creekmore; four great grandchildren with two on the way; four bonus great grandchildren; five bonus great, great grandchildren; brother, Richard (Nancy) Priest; sister, Melody (Ron) Gordon; and numerous nieces and nephews. Ron was preceded in death by his parents, Donald and Myrna (Butcher) Priest; his stepmother, Eleanor (Brown) Priest; his mother and father-in-law, Otta and Una (Selby) Beard; and daughter, Shelly Kibby, just 12 days before his passing. Friends may visit with the family from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm on Thursday December 2 with the service immediately following at 1:00 pm. Visitation and service will be held at Hopkins Community Church at 2142 128th Street in Hopkins, Michigan, with cremation to follow. Ron (Ronzie) will be missed by many. His legacy and spirit will forever live on in each and every person that knew him and he will forever be in our hearts and memories. In lieu of flowers, consider making a donation to the Allegan County Humane Society in honor of Ron's fur babies Harley, Molly, Rambo and Rascal. Service Details. Visitation When: Thursday, December 2nd, 2021 11:00am - 1:00pm Location: Hopkins Community Church Address: 2142 - 128th Avenue Hopkins, MI 49328 Service When: Thursday, December 2nd, 2021 1:00pm Location: Hopkins Community Church Address: 2142 - 128th Avenue Hopkins, MI 49328 Online Memory & Photo Sharing Event Ongoing Online Event About this event In Loving Memory Of Ronald Priest January 31, 1943 - November 26, 2021 Look inside to read what others have shared Family and friends are coming together online to create a special keepsake. Every memory left on the online obituary will be automatically included in this book. View Tribute Book