Ronald Kenneth Siqueira

Ron died peacefully surrounded by those he loved, following a short battle with esophageal cancer.

He is survived by his daughter Emily Siqueira, Emily's mother Suzanne Larson, his sister Joanne Wilson (Don), his brother Keith Siqueira, and his nieces and their families.

Ron was born in Berkeley to Elizabeth and Kenneth Siqueira.  He lived in Berkeley until the age of eight when his family moved to the permanent family home in El Cerrito, which was built by his father.  He attended the rest of elementary school, junior high & high schools in El Cerrito.

All of the Siqueira children were required to play an instrument, and Ron’s was the clarinet.  He did so grudgingly, but played very well.  The clarinet gig died when Ron moved on to Junior High.  Early on, he loved horses and would hang out at the Arlington Stables with a preference for a horse named Suzy Q.  Interestingly, Emily acquired a deep love for horses and is an accomplished rider and horsewoman, currently teaching riding and horsemanship skills in Marin and Sonoma counties.

Inspired by his paternal grandfather, Edward Siqueira, Ron was a teenage mechanical tinkerer.  He built a Go-Kart at age 14 and a mini motor scooter at 15.  His mechanical skills and interest stayed with him throughout his teens.  The wrecks that he bought and repaired were legendary.  You weren’t sure if the rubber bands around the stick shift were there to hold something together or just there for convenience.  And the windshield wipers on his 58 Buick needed a dress tie attached to them so that they could be moved, by the driver, through an open driver’s door window.  Still he managed to get his vehicles up to speed.

To his parents’ chagrin and later his regret, he dropped out of high school months before graduation and joined the Air Force.  After his discharge, he worked in the automotive field for many years.  He lived at the infamous mansion on Lee Street in Oakland during the early 1970’s with a lot other guys, many of whom came and went.   Parties there weren’t official unless the police showed up at least 3 times.

Ron married Suzanne Larson in 1975.  They lived in Berkeley and Oakland during the 17 years of their marriage.  They delighted in the company of many long standing, close friends and their growing families.  Their home was the place of choice for friends to stop by.  As Bob Presnall once sang, “Ain’t got no plans? Go to Ron and Suzanne’s.”   Emily arrived in 1988 to the elation of everyone.  Although exes, Ron and Suzanne remained remarkably close friends, literally until the end.

Ron went on to attain a high school diploma, graduate from Cal State Hayward (East Bay) with a B.A. in Art and earned a Master’s degree in Psychology from JFK University.

In keeping with his education, Ron spent the first part of his second working career in the social service field working with wayward and neglected youth.  He managed 3 group homes in Hayward, which, though rewarding at times, was extremely demanding and emotionally taxing.  There his interest in computers was piqued, and he taught himself the skill of programming.  His final, and most dramatic career move came late in life when he joined the work force at Autodesk in Marin as a software engineer.  He remained with Autodesk until retiring.

Ron was a true Renaissance man, whose skills were amazingly self-taught.  He inherited his father’s flair for art, and became an accomplished painter in his own right, painting with both water colors and oil. He was an accomplished wood worker and wood carver.  He used his wood working skills to build furniture, and the like, and he used his carving skills to dress his furniture or for stand-alone display.  Gravitating back to the family’s musical roots, Ron taught himself how to play classical guitar.  He loved to cook and to eat and was an avid reader.

Ron was a friend of Bill W’s.  The support and hope he received from the fellowship precipitated an absolute transformation in Ron’s life.  For the last four years Ron experienced the happiness and unencumbered life for which he always longed.

He will be sorely missed by those who knew him well.

The family would like to extend our heartfelt acknowledgement and thank you to Hospice of Petaluma.  They were instrumental in facilitating a loving final farewell to Ron, we are all so grateful.

Come celebrate Ron’s life with family and friends on Sunday, February 4 from 2 to 4PM.  The Burdell Building, 405 East D street (at Lakeville) IceHouse Annex, Petaluma Ca  94952

Burdell Building (Ice House Annex)