RONALD LEE HACHINSKY

Ronald Lee Hachinsky, age 80, of Lee's Summit Missouri passed away peacefully on Tuesday, January 4, 2022 at the Saint Luke's Hospice House in Kansas City, Missouri after a long battle with advanced systemic mastocytosis and an even longer battle with myelodysplastic syndrome for the past thirteen years that progressed to acute leukemia in the few weeks preceding his death.

Ron, Uncle Ronnie, as he was known affectionately by his many nieces and nephews and great nieces and great nephews, or Papa, as he was known to his four cherished grandsons, was born on July 19, 1941 in Kansas City, Kansas to Adolph and Lottie Hachinsky.  Born the son of immigrants, his father emigrated to the United States from Poland shortly before World War 1 erupted in Europe, and his mother's parents emigrated from Germany in the late 1800's.  Ron was the youngest of seven children.  He was raised in Kansas City, Kansas and attended Wyandotte High School, graduating in 1959.  While a senior in high school at age 17, his school was visited by a Navy recruiter who offered a promise to see the world and a steady paycheck.  As he had never really travelled far from home, he jumped at the chance and got permission from his mother and entered the United States Naval Reserve after graduation at the age of 17.  He achieved the rank of Petty Officer Second Class.  While in the Navy, he worked as an aviation structural mechanic and worked and flew on the P2V-7 Neptune and P-3 Orion aircraft.  Stationed in Sicily during the Cold War, his plane flew missions over the Mediterranean Sea searching for and tracking Soviet submarines.  As Ron was of small stature, he was often relegated to the duties of crawling into the small spaces of the aircraft in-flight to perform maintenance and repairs.  Later in life, he would speak fondly of his time in the Navy, but particularly of the friendships that he made while serving.  While not doing active duty service, he worked at the Vendo Company with his father.  He worked on the assembly line building vending machines.  He met his future wife, Dietra, at a motorcycle shop in Kansas City, Kansas in December 1962.  It's said that she broke up with her then-boyfriend so that she could go out with Ron.  They were married on May 9, 1964 at Saint Luke's Lutheran Church in Kansas City, Kansas.  They welcomed their only son, Wade Hachinsky, into the world in August 1969.  Although his job at Vendo paid the bills, he strived for something more challenging.  To keep his interest, he made a personal game of trying to do as much work in as little time as possible.  However, this did not sit well with the union or other employees, as it was felt that it made others look bad and possibly threatened their jobs as it showed that more could be done with some personal initiative.  He was told by the union to stop and work at the same pace as everyone else, which he did, but it left him frustrated and wanting to accomplish more.  It also got him noticed by his supervisors who wanted him to move up in the company, but they told him that he needed to have a college degree and to learn to play golf.  He started playing golf almost immediately at age 27, a passion that he kept his entire life, but he waited until age 30 to start college.  He started college in the fall of 1971 and attended night school for twelve years while still working and helping to support his family.  He left Vendo in 1979 to work as a purchasing agent at Marion Laboratories.  While at Marion Labs, owned by former Kansas City Royals owner, Ewing Kauffman, Ron and his family enjoyed many outings to watch Royals games, courtesy of the company, including two World Series games in the 1980's.  He finished his bachelor's degree in business in 1983 and was eventually promoted to the manager of the purchasing department, a position that he held until his retirement in March of 1993 at age 51.  He made many lifelong friends while working at Marion Labs.  A few years after retirement, Ron and Dee pulled up their Kansas City roots and moved to Bella Vista, Arkansas, where they lived the retirement lifestyle for over 20 years, spending the warmer months of the year in Arkansas and winters at their second home in Weslaco, Texas.  Always preferring to be outdoors and active, he cultivated and refined his love for golf while living in Arkansas and Texas and could be found playing golf more days than not.  He even had two holes-in-one on Bella Vista's golf courses.  He also enjoyed playing in a senior softball league, where, at the young age of 65, he was referred to by his teammates as "the kid."  He was also active in the Bella Vista Lutheran Church.  Ron and Dee moved back to Lee's Summit, Missouri in 2015 where they were able to spend more time with family and old friends and to make new friends.  He was outgoing and excelled at making new friends.  They continued to spend winters in Texas until the past couple of years when his health prevented him from going.  Besides staying busy playing golf, working on different projects, woodworking, and spending time with friends, one of his greatest joys was spending time with his family and, especially, his four grandsons.

Ron was preceded in death by his parents, Adolph and Lottie Hachinsky, his brothers Alvin Hachinsky, Vernon Hachinski, and Robert Hachinsky, and his sister, Norma Morey.  He is survived by his wife Dietra Hachinsky of Lee's Summit, Missouri, son Wade Hachinsky of Lee's Summit, Missouri, and four grandsons, Alex Hachinsky of Wichita, Kansas, and Andrew Hachinsky, Christopher Hachinsky, and Curtis Hachinsky, all of Lee's Summit, Missouri.  Also surviving are two brothers, Leroy Hachinski of Hollister, California and Leonard Hachinsky of Kansas City, Kansas, along with many nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews, and a lifetime of friends.

Services will be held on Saturday, January 8, 2022 at the Raintree Community Church at 101 SW Raintree Drive, Lee's Summit, Missouri 64082.  Visitation will be from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm with the funeral immediately afterwards.  Lunch will be provided following all services.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to either Saint Luke's Hospice House or Raintree Community Church.

Arrangements: Cullen Funeral Home, Raymore, Missouri 816.322.5278