Ronald Peter Gullickson, 79, of Accord
APRIL 29, 1939-SEPT. 20, 2018
ACCORD » Ronald Peter Gullickson died at his home in Accord, N.Y., on Sept. 20, 2018.
Ron was born on April 29, 1939 on a farm in Downing, Wis. He was the second son of the late Margel and Richard Gullickson. On the farm he learned carpentry from his father and continued working alongside him when the family moved to Santa Barbara, Calif.
During his 20s Ron traveled across Europe and also crewed on a 40foot sailboat in the Caribbean. Upon returning to the States, he worked in a variety of other jobs including stints in New York’s Hudson Valley apple orchards and at Mohonk Mountain House, where he met his future wife, Sandra Smiley.
In the early 60’s he returned to California to attend Monterey Peninsula College and was married in 1962. He attended the San Francisco Art Institute and apprenticed with a local potter in Marin County. He went on to attain a Masters Degree in Art from Stanford University and taught painting and ceramics at the college level for several years before moving to Alleghany, Calif. in the Sierra Nevada Mountains to raise his family.
Following his divorce in 1980, he moved to New York to be near his sons. Ron was a lifelong builder and loved sailing. He designed and built seven houses and hand built a 26-foot catamaran sailboat which he sailed from Kingston, N.Y., to the Caribbean and back, alone.
Ron spent the remainder of his life on his land in Accord, N.Y., painting and throwing pots in his studio and hosting friends and family for “sauna nights.”
Ron is survived by two brothers, Gary Gullickson and Dale Gullickson; sister, Jeanne Weaver; his three sons, Noah Gullickson and his wife Michelle of High Falls, N.Y., Marc Gullickson and his wife Margy of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Eric Gullickson and his wife Robyn of New Paltz, N.Y.; his ex-wife, Sandra Smiley; ex-wife, Laura Prince and stepdaughter, Rachel Prince; six grandchildren, Gavin, Onnika, Finn, Leo, Gage, and Nylla; and several nieces, nephews, aunts, and uncles, and many loving friends. He was predeceased by two brothers, Arthur and Charles Gullickson.