A great athlete and a better friend
“Hey, Ronnie. What do you want to do today?”
In any group of young kids, there’s usually one whom the others look to for leadership. In my Centerville neighborhood, it was Ronnie Ouellette.
When we were in kindergarten or first grade, our running around was unstructured. By the time we were 7 and the Red Sox were in their “Impossible Dream” season in 1967, baseball was the focus.
Most mornings I’d go out my backdoor, cut through the woods that connected Five Corners Road and Bent Tree Drive, and go up the little rise to Autumn Drive to Ronnie’s house. His house was near the top of a hill. In a valley below that hill was an undeveloped area we called the sandpit. It was like an oceanless beach surrounded by woods – the perfect spot for touch football, hide-and-seek, tree forts and winter sledding.
In one corner of the sandpit, there was a steep dropoff from the woods to the dirt, which formed an ideal backstop for a catcherless game of baseball. We used red rubber balls that would land in the street when Ronnie connected with one of my pitches. When I was at bat, let’s just say, the balls were a lot easier for the fielders to grab, especially if they moved in a little.
Mostly the days were filled with baseball, but sometimes Ronnie, Scott, Mark, Eugene and I would spend some time playing other games. My dad installed a pole at the edge of our driveway that had a basketball hoop at the regulation 10-foot height and another below it for the younger kids to aim at. Ronnie was the master at shooting the ball with a high arc, so it would swish through both nets.
He was one of those natural athletes who makes everything look easy. He could run faster, jump higher and throw farther than anyone else on the playground. Looking back I can see that his skills were refined though hours of practice, as casual as much of it was.
Ronnie was a star of the sixth-grade soccer and basketball teams. He played quarterback for the Barnstable Middle School team. In high school, Ronnie didn’t sprout up or bulk up the way some of our friends did, so he was too small to play football. But he stuck with basketball and was the shortest starter on the Barnstable High varsity team.
I can’t think of my childhood without thinking about Ronnie. He was my first friend, but eventually we stumbled into new interests and found other friends. In high school, we’d always end up in the same homeroom, but there was an O’Reilly and an O’Toole between us, so Ronnie and I weren’t within whispering distance.
Then we graduated and went our separate ways. Even though we both ended up living in the town of Barnstable, we didn’t see each other often.
Thursday night I found out that Ronnie had passed away after a battle with cancer. Once upon a time, I thought Ronnie could do anything, but here was one struggle that was too big for him.
There are pictures on Facebook that show Ronnie looking pale and frail, next to Carol, his wife for 33 years. That’s not how I’ll remember him. Instead I’ll think of the smile on his face as we dashed down the hill to the sandpit, he always a few strides ahead of me, when he’d look over his shoulder at me and I’d shout, “Hey, Ronnie. What do you want to do today?”
November 30th, 2012 at 7:46 pm
Beautiful story Bill.
November 30th, 2012 at 8:37 pm
I just wanted to add a special memory I have of Uncle Ronnie. Uncle Ronnie has been around since I was a little girl. He was truly a special man. I have many memories of fun family times when he was always there. Getting lost trying to find an apple orchard one visit I came up there, laughing so hard I thought my sides would split. There is something that really sticks out in my mind that was very special to me though. It happened not too long ago. My son Jackson, who is now 10, had maybe seen Uncle Ronnie 3 times in his whole life, but I remember leaving one day and Ronnie saying “I love you” to my son. He took such a genuine interest in my kids as if it was almost automatic because they were part of the family now. Its not a huge deal and he probably wouldn’t even remember it because that was just him but it touched my heart that he would so instantly and genuinely bond to the most important person in my life at the time, my son. Uncle Ronnie was more a part of the family than some members who were actually born into it, every since he met my auntie Carol and they were teenagers. I know my Nana loved him like a son and I dont know anybody who would have ever said a bad word about him. It is hard for me to believe I will not hear that voice again or that laugh. Anybody who got a chance to be a part of his life was truly blessed.
Your niece,
Jennifer
December 1st, 2012 at 12:47 am
Thanks again for the tribute Bill. Since I saw the news of Ronnie’s passing about 8 hours ago I still cant process the information. Ronnie and I met in 7th grade around 1972 when the show Happy Days first came out and he was like The Fonz. The coolest and toughest guy around but also a friend to everyone and extremely intelligent. We had bullies back in the day and I will NEVER forget when we were in 10th grade at BHS a guy got in my grill and made a threat. Ronnie without hesitation said to the guy “if you touch him you deal with me.” No one wanted to mess with Ronnie. That was over 35 years ago but it is the kind of thing that stays with you because it is rare to find a friend like that. I will always be thankful to Ronnie for making the 6 years from 7 through 12th grade a better experience for me because I had him by my side along the way. Raising a glass tonight in his memory…Perk
December 1st, 2012 at 2:39 am
Such a true and heartfelt story. These are found memories that each one of us who lived in the old neighboorhood will cherish forever. Ronnie was a big brother to the Gunnery girls. He will be missed by each and every one of us.
December 1st, 2012 at 2:18 pm
Bill
Thank you for using your writing talents to express your childhood memories of Ronnie. The whole time I was reading it I was smiling on the inside.
I think anyone who spent any amount of time with Ronnie has their own lasting memories of his humor and caring soul.
I have similar recollections as Scott. I looked up to Ronnie as being the really cool kid because he had the good looks, the really nice car and was the basketball star. But then as I got to know him better I found out he was also very intelligent and positive and funny.
I think any of us who knew Ronnie as more than the “cool kid” have a place inside of ourselves today where we are smiling with our fond memories of a really good person.
Again, thank you Bill.
R.I.P. Ronnie
December 1st, 2012 at 10:11 pm
Nice tribute.
December 2nd, 2012 at 8:18 pm
Bill, Thank you. Just found out. Typing thru tears. I HATE this fucking disease. I hate it took him. Ronnie.. such a, well,plain and simply, a..nice guy.
December 5th, 2012 at 4:29 pm
I just got back from visiting my mom in Florida, and have been catching up on Facebook and emails. Just saw that Ronnie has passed. Bill, very nice article. We have all known each other, and those neighborhoods since elementary school! I still have pictures of us all, on a class trip bus ride, Ronnie you, Eugene, Peter cook, Peter marney, and a few others. I agree with what Leslie says, being a cancer survivir( so far) too, I can relate. I’m very sorry for the loss of a really nice gentle man. Even though I too, hardly ran into him in daily adult life, I’ll always remember him as a true , kind, and real person!
December 5th, 2012 at 4:38 pm
Snooky, I’d love to see that photo! Great description of Ronnie: true, kind and real.
December 8th, 2012 at 4:39 pm
Great story Bill, thank you. Yes Ronny was all that. We at the old Osterville Elementary all looked up to him. He was just one of those kids that was naturally good at everything. But even a better person. Humble, quiet, a good family man. I am glad I knew him & he touched us all in some way or another.
I would occasionally run into him & his wife Carol through the years and it was always good to see him! Thanks Bill for describing that old sandpit with all those friends and memories.