RONALD JOSEPH WALTON
July 1, 1940 - February 4, 2023
Ronald Walton, 82, of New Braunfels, Texas, went home to the Lord on February 4, 2023, with his family by his side in San Antonio. Ron was born July 1, 1940,to Talford and Helen Walton in Loogootee, Indiana. He graduated from Loogootee HS in 1958 and enrolled at the University of Indiana in Bloomington. Ron was a very proud IU graduate, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Geology and briefly played basketball for the Hoosiers. Upon graduation he began his career asa Water Specialist with the National Oceanographic Data Center in Washington, DC, in 1961. It was in DC that he met the love of his life, Judith Bethel,at the Cave Dwellers ice rink party. The two were married December 28, 1963,at First Presbyterian Church in Odessa, Texas, Judith’s hometown. The couple remained in DC until 1967. From 1967-70, Ron served as Chief of the Great Lakes Regional Data Center at the US Lake Survey Michigan. He was in charge of the collection/dissemination of Great Lakes limnology data for the largest fresh water body (Great Lakes) in the world. From 1970-79, he was Chief of Data Processing for the Coastal Engineering Research Center in Maryland, collecting/disseminating erosion data on all US coastal beaches and earned a Master’s Degree from American University. He concurrently worked as a realtor to provide additional support to his growing family.in 1979, Ron moved to Evergreen, Colorado,and spent the last 15 years of his 34-year federal career at the US Geological Survey in Central Region in Denver as the computer coordinator of collection/dissemination of all natural resource data for the western US states. Upon retiring from the USGS, Ron continued his career as a realtor and was joined by Judith where they both worked with Coldwell Banker in the Evergreen and Genesee area. Ron would continue in real estate sales in New Braunfels until retiring only recently. Ron and Judith relocated to New Braunfels, Texas,in 2008. Ron was an active member of Oakwood Church and participated in mission trips and men’s retreats among other events. Ron also served the New Braunfels community as Director, District 9 (Comal & Guadalupe counties) of the Ron was a passionate fan of the Indiana Hoosiers, St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Redskins. He held Redskins season tickets for decades, even after moving to Evergreen, Colorado in the late 1970’s. His support of his favorite teams is legendary within the family. As passionate as he was about his teams, his devotion to Jesus and love of his family is what will be best remembered, along with his kindness to all he met. Ron simply loved life. He was an avid hunter, with many trophies adorning walls of the family home in Evergreen, Colorado. He played golf and loved church activities throughout his life. He truly enjoyed serving others and touched many, many people with his selfless desire to know their stories. Ron was preceded in death by both his parents and his sister, Marilou. He is survived by his wife of 58years, Judith, and their three children, Cindy Montgomery (Doug) of Longmont, Colorado, Ronald Walton Jr. (Stacey) of San Antonio, Texas,and Stephanie Polay (Derik) of Austin, Texas. He is also survived by six grand children and his sister Judy Ann Smith of Bloomington, Indiana. A celebration of Ron’s life will be held Saturday, February 18,at 2pm at Oakwood Church in New Braunfels. In lieu of flowers or gifts, donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. www. stjude.org