| Graduation Year | Class of 1960 |
| Date of Birth | Apr 25, 1942 |
| Date of Passing | Dec 04, 2023 |
| About | Ronald Grunch, 81, of Boyne City, Michigan, went to be with his God on Monday evening, December 4th, 2023. He married the love of his life, the former Elaine Like from New Mexico, on December 18th, 1965, and were together for 57 years until her passing in May this year. They raised their three children in Boyne City. Ron’s life was always one of responsibility and leadership. Ron was born in Royal Oak, Michigan on April 25, 1942, to Raymond and Helen Grunch. His mother died of cancer when Ron was 12 and being the oldest of six boys, he took care of his younger brothers like he was their father. His father remarried the former Beatrice Herriman who had three young sons resulting in a blended family of nine boys who were close to each other throughout their lives. At 14, his family moved from Detroit to a dairy farm in Charlevoix, Michigan. Ron was a great athlete and was a member of the Charlevoix Rayder football team that went undefeated and unscored on in 1958 and also went undefeated in 1959. After graduating from Charlevoix High School in 1960, he joined the Air Force and served as a policeman at a nuclear research site for four years in New Mexico. Following the Air Force, he joined the Albuquerque, New Mexico Police Force for two years where he met Elaine. They moved to Northern Michigan in 1966. Ron and Elaine owned the local Sears and Western Auto Stores in Boyne City. They were active members of St. Matthews Church singing in the choir and participating in Catholic Community Events. Ron was always engaged in Boyne City events and served as a Boyne City Commissioner for 22 years and as the Mayor of Boyne City for several years. Ron was instrumental in improving Boyne City’s economic development as well as city services including parks and recreation, city emergency response facilities, and senior citizen support with a key focus on Boyne City’s Senior Center next to Deer Park. Other than his family, his greatest loves were fishing, bowling and golf. A perfect day for Ron was being on his boat in Lake Charlevoix fishing with his son Randy. Ron was a professional bowler with many 300 games and tournament wins. He also found time to be awarded a Master of Business Administration degree in Environmental Liability. Ron was preceded in death by Elaine, his parents, five brothers, his daughter Debbie Grunch Harris and his son Randy Grunch. Ron is survived by his daughter Tammy (Shawn) Beckman, his son-in-law Mark (Jill) Harris and 6 grandchildren Brendan Harris, Christian Harris, Maddie Harris, Cameron Harris, Belen Beckman and Remington Beckman. He is also survived by his brothers Rick (Nancy) Grunch, Roger (Ethel) Grunch and Russell (Jeanie) Grunch. A funeral mass will be held at St. Matthews in Boyne City on December 13th, 2023 at 11AM. There will be a memorial visitation beforehand starting at 10AM. After mass, there will luncheon. Please join us to celebrate his life. Arrangements are in the care of Stackus Funeral Home. |
