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ATLANTIC MINE
Ronald William Ranta, 81, of Atlantic Mine, passed away Monday, April 9, 2018, at the Houghton County Medical Care Facility in Hancock after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s.
He was born September 19, 1936, in Baltic, Michigan, to William and Veino (Kemppainen) Laitala. Shortly after his birth, Ron’s father, William, passed away. His mother later married Emil Ranta who then adopted and raised Ron.
Ron attended the John A. Doelle School in Tapiola, later receiving his GED from Houghton High School.
Ron was married to Karen Bonenfant and together they had three children. Eventually they parted ways. Later in life, he met his loving partner, Beverly Berg.
Ron was employed as an equipment operator at the Houghton County Road Commission. He also worked at Hocking Construction of South Range, Manninen Welding in Tapiola, and worked for DHS transporting patients to appointments. He was also self-employed, cutting and delivering wood in the local area.
Ron was a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving during the era of the Berlin Wall in Germany.
Ron was very involved with the Democratic Party. He volunteered for numerous organizations. He had a great love for old cars. He enjoyed music festivals and driving his old vehicles in parades. He loved listening to old time country and polka music and loved to travel. His trips included going to Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Mexico.
Ron was always there for his children and family. They were a very important part of his life and meant the world to him.
Ronald will be sadly missed by his son, Dace (Robin) Ranta of Allouez; daughters, Candie (Mike) Schmitt of Tamarack City and Lori (Russ Welch) Ribbich of Mosinee, Wisconsin; his four granddaughters, Lorelei (Brian) Johnson, Ashley (Jeremy Hattula) Duguette, Caitlin (Justin) Ranta, and Dacee Ranta; numerous great-grandchildren; his loving partner for 20 plus years, Beverly Berg of Atlantic Mine; a brother, Paul (Karen) Ranta of Tapiola; a sister, Shirley Yokie of Painesdale; numerous nieces, nephews, cousins; and his two grand-dogs, Max and Issabella.
Ronald was preceded in death by his parents, William Laitala, Veino Ranta, and Emil Ranta; sisters, Helen Harma, Helmi Ruotsi, Irene Karna, Susan Simkover; and brothers, Arvid, John and Urho.
The family extends a special thank you the first floor nurses and CNA’s at the Houghton County Medical Care Facility for the outstanding care our father received.
A funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 14, 2018, at the Mountain View Mortuary in South Range, with Fr. John Martignon to officiate. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. until the time of service on Saturday. Spring burial with military rites will be in the Atlantic Mine Cemetery. Arrangements are being handled by Antila Funeral Service, Inc. Online condolences may be expressed to the family at antilafuneral.com.
