Ronald Dean Melcher was born to Albert Melcher and Francis Schwager Melcher on June 14, 1940 and passed away in his home on June 3, 2015, 11 days short of his 75th birthday.
He attended elementary school in a rural one room school house near Creighton, NE. He graduated from Creighton High School in 1957. After graduation he enlisted in the United States Army. He served in Fort Sill, Oklahoma and Fort Ord, CA and received an honorable discharge in April, 1961.
Ron then worked on the construction of Merritt Dam Reservoir near Valentine, NE. It was there that he met his future wife, Snooks Sherman. They were married June 22, 1963. To this union 3 daughters were born; Teresa, Linda and Annette.
After their marriage, Ron & Snooks lived in Valentine, where Ron was employed by Pepsi Cola. In March 1965 they purchased & moved to the Sherman family ranch near Norden, NE. There he raised and took great pride in his Angus cattle herd. Ron was known and respected in the community as an honest and hardworking cattleman. Ron was a man of integrity. His friends often said "Ron was a quiet man and never talked a lot. But when he talked you listened."
Ron was a member of St. Nicholas Catholic Church. He served on school boards at Norden Dist. 21 and Keya Paha County High School where his daughters attended school. Ron was a very supportive father. Even though the high school was 25 minutes away, he attended every home and away sporting event. More than once, being one of the only parents in the stands. No matter how horrible the loss was, he had snacks and encouraging words waiting at home.
Ron loved his animals and could always be seen playing with one of the many pesky cats when he thought no one was watching. He loved his westerns and war movies, but could also be heard laughing at his favorite cartoons, especially the Road Runner. Ron was an avid sports fan, especially the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Despite yelling at the TV and vowing to never watch again; he always forgave & forgot by the next Saturday. He was always ready to play Cribbage and looked forward to the annual Melcher family cribbage tournament. He had the patience of a saint while teaching the youngest grandchild to play.
Ron had 14 grandchildren and was an amazing Grandpa. He loved to take the kids out on his tractor and taught them so much about how to work hard and to live an honest life. He loved to watch the little ones play and took great pride in watching each one of them grow.
Preceding Ron in death were his parents Albert and Francis Melcher, stepbrother Donovan and his wife Marilyn Frank and sister-in-law Mary Ann (Sherman) Rossenbach.
Ron is survived by his wife Loretta of 51 years and his three daughters Teresa (Alan) Peterson of Burke, Linda (Dave) Thomsen of Lincoln, NE and Annie (Evan) Osnes of Valentine, fourteen grandchildren Meghan, Ethan & Anna Peterson, Abbey (Grant) Traynowizc, Ally, Trevor, Sam, Ben, Emmy & Maggie Thomsen, Seth, Trent, Sadi & Leah Osnes, and Ron's "4th daughter" Kim McCrary Shaul. He is also survived by brothers Robert (Pat) Melcher, Dick (Gwen) Melcher, step-brothers Larry (Marilyn) Frank, Freddie (Kathy) Frank, brother-in-law Don Rossenbach, George (Marie) Sherman, Bill (Roberta) Sherman, sister-in-law Mary Lou Kerr and many nieces, nephews and a host of friends.

Mass a Christian Burial for Ron Melcher age 74 of Valentine will be held on Monday, June 8 at 10:30 AM at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Valentine. Burial will follow at Mount Hope Cemetery in Valentine. Rosary will be recited on Sunday evening at 7:00 PM at the Church. Visitation will be on Sunday starting at noon until rosary time at Sandoz Chapel of the Pines in Valentine. Mr. Melcher passed away on June 3 at his home in Valentine.