Ronald Charles Kohls' Obituary
Ronald Charles Kohls, resident of Jackson, MI, passed away peacefully while in hospice at Brightside Manor on the afternoon of August 25, 2021. He was 87 years old.
Ron's wife, Jan Kohls, preceded him in death on July 24, 2019.
Ron was born May 8, 1934 in Lansing, MI. He attended public schools in East Lansing and Okemos. As a child he enjoyed playing "The War" with his neighborhood friends where Ron most liked to play the role of medic. He helped collect rubber and metal for the war effort and raised rabbits and pigeons.
Ron, known as "Chunky" to his classmates, was very active as a student at Okemos High School. He was Class President as a freshman, Class Treasurer in his sophomore and junior years and Student Council President as a senior. Ron played basketball all four years, ran track his first two years and played football all four years mostly as an offensive and defensive linemen, even though "Chunky" was actually a skinny 135-pounder. His senior yearbook asked, "Is there anything he can't do?"
Ron went on to attend Michigan State University where he was a member of the Sigma Delta Chi fraternity (The "Famed Lushes"). He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism in 1956.
While still attending MSU, Ron met Janice Bongard of Haslett, MI, at a local bank where she worked as a teller. They were soon married, tying the knot at the First Congregational Church in Okemos on March 27, 1955.
The newlyweds honeymooned in Chicago, returned to the Lansing area, and quickly started a family. Their first child, David Eugene, was born January 23, 1956.
Ron and Jan moved to St. Joseph, MI where Ron had taken his first reporting job, going to work at the Herald Palladium. Their second child, Brian R, was born in St. Joseph on September 28, 1957.
The couple wished to live closer to their families residing in the Lansing area and Ron landed a reporting job with the Jackson Citizen Patriot. In short time, Ron and Jan bought their first house, a newly constructed bungalow located in Vandercook Lake. Ron and Jan joined the First Congregational Church and were very active members of the Congregation for many years.
Rhonda Marie, born September 18, 1959, and Gregory Duane, their fourth and final child, born March 25, 1961, were both born in Jackson during this time.
In 1965, the family moved to Menominee, MI in the Upper Peninsula where Ron was a Managing Editor at the Herald Leader. Although they loved their life in Menominee, the hours of Ron's job were very long and he was unable to spend time enjoying his family. After a year, it was decided to relocate the family back to Jackson and Ron returned to his previous position at the Citizen Patriot.
Ron soon tired of the limits inherent in newspaper work and began to seek out new enterprises and experiences. This is a drive he sustained through the remainder of his professional life.
Ron left the newspaper in the late Sixties to work as Head of Public Relations at Jackson Community College in the days when the campus was still located primarily downtown. This position opened up a new world of experiences, in no small part due to the influence of the many students that came from overseas to attend the college.
After participating in a couple "International Festivals" held by the college, Ron got the bug to try to recreate some of the exotic dishes he'd sampled at the festivals. These experimental Sunday dinners unfailingly ended in near disaster as Ron, who had never before cooked even a simple meal, took on elaborate, multi-dish feasts that left the kitchen in the worst mess imaginable and hours of post-dinner cleanup for Jan and the kids. His JCC experiences birthed in Ron a deep and lasting love and respect for the vast variety of cultures and cuisines of the world. Ron was fearless in sampling all foods but in the end he'll be remembered as a far better gastronome than chef.
A couple years after working at JCC, Ron and a friend launched a boutique advertising firm. Unfortunately the enterprise didn't take off as hoped and Ron decided to leave in order to support his family. The recession of the early 1970's made white collar jobs in the area hard to come by and Ron spent the next couple of years selling insurance, working as Personnel Manager at a local manufacturer, and buying houses to rent out to local Jacksonians.
One day he read in the Detroit News that a newspaper in Concord was for sale.
The owner of the paper, Elmer Wilson, originally wanted to sell Ron and Jan the building and equipment (in Concord) along with his publication "The Legal News". Eventually that arrangement fell through, which turned out to be a blessing as Mr. Wilson used the old Linotype, or "hot lead", technology to produce the type and pages for the paper. Ultimately, Ron and Jan were able to buy just the rights to publish the paper and launch their enterprise with new computer(like) technology, or "cold type". The Compugraphic machines they used for this served Ron and Jan very well for many years before moving into desktop publishing technology in the 1990's.
The Legal News was a very stable enterprise for Ron and Jan that even enabled other members of the family to work and learn valuable skills.
Over the thirty years Ron and Jan owned and operated the Legal News, they launched a number of other publications, a typesetting service and an informational services destination, "FaxPlus" that was located at Jackson Crossing.
The couple sold the Legal News and retired in 2005.
In retirement, Ron was able to enjoy the things he most loved doing - spending time with his grandchildren and listening to opera, classical and big band music. He watched the Tigers, Lions, Spartan football and basketball, and read books on World War II, crime, biographies and history of all sorts. He greatly enjoyed their dog "Rosie", and eating Hinkley Bakery donuts. Ron and Jan travelled, visiting Hawaii, Mexico, California and Florida together.
In 2004 he took "the trip of a lifetime" with his son, David, to Italy. Besides being nearly arrested in Siena (a misunderstanding), Ron and David attended La Traviata in Rome, climbed 463 steps to the top of the Duomo in Florence and joined the la passeggiata in Lucca. Ron also sought out and met pretty much every dog and ate every dish the country had to offer.
Ron is survived by his loving children, David, Brian, Rhonda and Greg and their significant others, Lily, Jeremy, Joe and Terry, and by his four beloved grandchildren, Sidney, Brian, Greta and Matthew.
The family wishes to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at Brightside Manor for their wonderful care of Ron over the past three years. For all that they provided him, we are ever grateful.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday September 12, 2021 at the First Congregational Church in downtown Jackson. Visitation, also at the church, precedes the service beginning at 12:30 p.m. A meal will be served at the church immediately following the service.
Please note: masks and social distancing are required during Visitation and the Service.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Ron's name to the Michigan Opera Theater at michiganopera.org or the First Congregational Church of Jackson.
What’s your fondest memory of Ronald?
What’s a lesson you learned from Ronald?
Share a story where Ronald's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Ronald you’ll never forget.
How did Ronald make you smile?