Ronald John Vargo, Sr., Age 84, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, April 29th at his home in Uniontown, Ohio.
Ron was born February 25, 1936 in Akron, Ohio, the son of Stephen D. and Helen (Morrick) Vargo. He was a school teacher for the State of Ohio for over 31 years, retiring in 1991. He was a member of Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Uniontown, Ohio. If you have followed local sports, you probably ran into Ron on the basketball court, on a football field, a baseball diamond, a tennis court, a golf course, on the running track, or even at the volleyball net as a coach or official. As an athlete at Kent State he lettered in basketball, football, and golf from 1954 to 1959. Among his coaching highlights is an 8-0 season at Akron St. Mary's High in 1961, when his team was selected the state's mythical Class A football champion. His 1980 St. Vincent-St. Mary golf team had a 25-0 record and finished as the state runner-up. His 33 years of basketball officiating including, 11 years of working in the Ohio Conference and, in 1972, he officiated Adolph Rupp's last game with Kentucky at the Pizza Hut Classic in Las Vegas. He was inducted into the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame in 1993.
Ron is survived by his beloved wife of 57 years, Karen (Becker); children Ronald John, Jr. (Carol) Vargo, Edward (Mary) Vargo, Kim Vargo, Michael (Victoria) Vargo; sister-in-law, Theresa (McGrath) Vargo; sister-in-law and brother-in-law Donna and Paul Firth; sister-in-law and brother-in-law Patricia and Richard Lockhart; sister-in-law and brother-in-law Pat and Edward Becker; sister-in-law and brother-in-law LuAnn and Robert Lister; grandchildren Joseph Vargo, Matthew (Lindsie) Vargo, Emily Vargo, Craig Vargo, Jamie Vargo, Norah Vargo, Bryn Vargo, Timothy Ferrebee, Katie Ferrebee, Konner Vargo, Kamden Vargo, Kennedy Vargo and Karsyn Vargo and great grandson, Sora Vargo. He was preceded in death by his only brother Stephen P. Vargo.
Our family would like to thank Cleveland Clinic / Akron General Hospice for caring for him as well as the friends and family members who supported him throughout his many years following his stroke. Our family would like everyone to know how much you’re appreciated, and it clearly shows the amount of love that existed for our father and our family.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations in Ron’s name to Holy Spirit Catholic Church (memo: Building Fund) and send directly to the church at 2952 Edison St. NW, Uniontown, OH 44685.
Funeral services will be live-streamed Saturday, May 2 at 11:00a.m. which can be found at:
https://www.facebook.com/AnthonyFuneralHomes/live/. Ron will then be interred at Holy Cross Cemetery.
When possible, we will have a memorial service/mass for all family and friends in honor of Ron’s memory.