WALSENBURG, Colo. — Ronald Robert Ouellette quietly passed away in his home in Walsenburg, Colorado, on May 22, 2018. He was born Jan. 17, 1949, in Lewiston, Maine. Ron graduated from Brunswick High School, then served in the U.S. Army. Returning to Maine, he built a 50-foot ferro-cement sailboat, designed for offshore sailing with live-aboard accommodations, including a bathtub. He then set a course for the Caribbean, where he spent most of his adult life.

A career change brought Ron to Everglades City, Florida, where he built a cracker style house and his second boat. It was a modified F9, Ian Farrier-designed trimaran. Its shallow draft and higher-speed ratios made it a perfect coastal boat that enabled him to sail solo from Maine to Florida. For the next two years, he sailed around the Bahamas, the Keys and the west coast of Florida. Its bright yellow hulls gave it the befitting name, Chiquita.

Ron retired after 17 years as a cardiac care nurse and headed west. He transformed a Sprinter van into a customized land yacht for traveling throughout the United States and Canada. It was on the east side of the Rocky Mountains, where he discovered a peaceful existence in southern Colorado. During his lifetime, Ron went from boat builder to construction worker to registered nurse, with an erudite smile so wide it would brighten the sky. Ron was a true Mainer, believing blood is thicker than water, while holding true to those who will miss him.

Ron was predeceased by his mother and father Irene and Robert Ouellette. He is survived by his sister, Joan Deemer; brother, John Ouellette; their spouses, nieces and nephews, and his life mate, Marlene Sassaman.

Ronald Robert Ouellette