Ronald Wayne Gilmore, an exceptionally compassionate and fun-loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and brother-in-law, died Mar. 23, 2025. Ronnie, as everyone who knew him called him, was born in Radford on Aug. 5, 1952, the son of Alva Wesley (Pete) Gilmore and Juanita Pearl Kincaid, and while Ronnie moved around the country and traveled the world, Radford was always the home he returned to.
Ronnie graduated from Radford High School, where he was an exceptional football player who was, in the words of his coach, Norman Lineburg, tough and a great teammate. After high school Ronnie was drafted into the U.S. Army but instead enlisted in the Marine Corps. He served proudly, and his time in the Marines meant a lot to him. After his time in the service, he earned a bachelor’s of science degree and a master’s of business administration from Radford University.
Ronnie went to work for Inland Motor, which would go on to be purchased by Kollmorgen. Ronnie, in typical Ronnie fashion, retired from Kollmorgen on a Friday and went to work on Monday with InMotion, which had just acquired a Kollmorgen division. Ronnie retired in 2021 from InMotion after working for more than 40 years in sourcing engineering.
Most importantly, in 1975 Ronnie married the love of his life, Sweetsie, and they started a life together filled with joy, caring and a lot of fun. The love and support they showed their children was ceaseless, unconditional and inspiring, and is evident in their daughters’ lives, still. No father was prouder of his children, or did more for them. Family was the most important thing in his life. He also loved a party, and parties loved him.
Surviving Ronnie are his daughter Mary Madeline Webster and her husband Christopher, of Radford; daughter Susanna Elizabeth Gilmore, of Radford; daughter Lucy Grace Gilmore, of Radford; and daughter Anne Bridget Smith and her husband Chris of Mesa, Arizona. Ronnie is also survived by five grandchildren, Sterling Louis Webster, Mary Eleanora (Nora) Webster, Thomas Fredrick Smith, Charles Wayne Smith, and Andres Alejandro Trujillo-Gilmore. In addition, Ronnie is survived by his brother Thomas Wesley Gilmore and wife Diane of Radford, Va., and David Wright Gilmore and wife Nancy of Concord, N. C.
Ronnie was preceded in death by Mary Susanna (Sweetsie) Gilmore and his parents.
A Funeral Mass was held at St. Jude Catholic Church on Friday, Mar. 28, 2025. Interment followed in the Southwest Virginia Veterans Cemetery in Dublin.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to Wheel Love (providing opportunities for people with mobility impairments) at https://www.paypal.com/biz/profile/wheelloveva.
The Gilmore family is in the care of Mullins Funeral Home & Crematory.
