Obituary of Ronald Hubert Secrist

Ronald Hubert Secrist passed away of Pulmonary Fibrosis on April 3, 2024, in Olympia, Washington, his home of 50 years.  He was born January 10, 1936, to Hubert and Lilliebell Secrist in Olympia. Over the years, he also resided in Kirkland, Washington, San Mateo, California, Tarzana, California, Morristown, New Jersey, and Marietta, Georgia.

 

Ron was the 3^rd generation of his family to be born in the Schneider family home on West Bay Drive.  He told endless stories of his adventures fishing, walking on the log boom (even though he couldn’t swim), rowing his boat, and soaring down the hill in his wagon - all of it accompanied by his beloved dog, Chow.  He grew up helping his father, Hubert Secrist, build numerous homes and churches in the Olympia area.  As a teen, he worked at the Richfield service station on 4^th Avenue for $0.75 per hour.  While there, a brief conversation with a customer, who encouraged him to attend college, changed the trajectory of his life. 

 

Ron graduated from Olympia High School in the Class of 1954 and earned a BA in Business Administration from the University of Washington in 1959.

 

He married Marilyn Ruth Brincken on June 14, 1958, in Seattle, Washington.

 

Ron had a career in Life Insurance spanning 20 years with Safeco Pacific Standard (Assistant VP), Equity Funding Inc. (Assistant VP), Banker’s Life Insurance (VP), and American Agency Life (VP and Assistant to the president).  He was also responsible for discovering and reporting the greatest insurance scandal in the history of the USA (Equity Funding Inc.) in 1973.  Multiple people were jailed as a result of his act of integrity and sacrifice.  His selfless acts culminated in an SEC investigation that shut down Equity Funding.

 

Thereafter, he and his wife opened a retail and wholesale lighting fixture business, Capital Lighting, and antique importing business, Abbey Antiques, in Olympia. Ron finished his career with the Washington State Dept. of Labor & Industries and retired in 2005.

 

Ron’s hobbies and interests were many and varied!  They included teaching Bible classes, oil painting, clock repair, gardening, butterfly collecting, antique restoration, woodworking, writing, ocean cruises, and watching Dr. Pol.  His was a founding family of Evergreen Christian Center

 

Ron is survived by his wife, Marilyn Ruth Secrist; son, Steve Secrist, and his wife, Julie; daughter, Wanda Stewart, and her husband, John; daughter, Julie Vavrinec, and husband, Dan; 11 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; and brother, Daniel Secrist.

 

He was predeceased by his sister, Patricia Sanford; parents, Hubert and Lilliebell Secrist; grandparents, Jacob and Gertrude Secrist and Albert and Hattie Schneider.

 

Services will be held Saturday, April 27, 2024, 2:00 p.m. at Evergreen Christian Community, 1000 Blake Lake Blvd SW Olympia, WA 98502.

 

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  

Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord,

the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me,

but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

--2 Timothy 4:7-8

 

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