More detail on this person: Ronald L. Surgener
February 15, 1945 - February 25, 2013 Ronald
Lester Surgener was born in Bakersfield, CA on
February 15, 1945, the son of Lester and Ella
Surgener. He graduated from North High School in
1967 and from the University of California in
Fresno with a Bachelor's Degree in Electrical
Engineering in 1972. He served his country as an
Army Chief Warrant Officer. He was enormously
proud of his duty in Vietnam as a Combat
Helicopter Pilot. He was awarded two Air Medals
for flying more than 50 combat missions, as well
as the Army Commendation Medal for bravery,
having survived being shot down twice. He took
over the family business, McKee Electric in 1990.
He devoted his time and attention to the operation
of the business paying special emphasis to his
employees about for whom he cared deeply. In
1999, he started RLS Industries also making that
company a success. Ron was active in numerous
civic activities and organizations and was a
philanthropist. He was a member of the Masonic
Lodge, Shriners, Elk's Lodge, Sheriff's Posse, and
the Sheriff's Search and Rescue. He was one of the
original members of Cooks from the Valley.
Between 2002 and June 2004, he barbequed on
USS Stennis, Truman, Lincoln and Bellau Wood.
He "skipped" the rest of '04, and all of '05 and
'06, as he had a couple of strokes. Most folks
would have stayed home after that, but in '07 he
came back and cooked for thousands more at
CENTCOM, Southern Command, and Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba. In '08 he cooked at the U.S. Naval
Academy and on July 4, 2010, for the Naval
Command - CENTCOM in Bahrain and on Veterans
Day 2010, for the men and women of the United
States European Command. Of the twenty-three
trips, Ron went to ten and helped serve more than
55,000 men and women throughout the world! In his
spare time Ron enjoyed fishing, hunting, boating
and golfing. Ron passed away on February 25,
2013. He is survived by his wife, Nancy; his sons,
Lester and Greg; his grandchildren, Ella, Ryan,
Sienna, and Lila; and his stepson, Teddy. Services
will be held at Calvary Bible, 48 Manor Street, at
10:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 2nd followed by
grave side services at Greenlawn Cemetery on River
Blvd., with a Reception at Bakersfield Country
Club. Viewing will be held Friday evening, March
1st from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Greenlawn Chapel. In
lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the
charity of your choice in remembrance of Ronald L.
Surgener. www.bakersfield.com/obits
Published in Bakersfield Californian on March 1,
2013
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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