Ronald L. Barbieri

It is with heavy heart that I share that my Dad, Ron Barbieri, passed away peacefully the evening of Father’s Day. A service will be held Monday, June 30th, @ 2pm in San Leandro at Santos Robinson Mortuary (160 Estudillo Avenue). He is survived by my Mom, Evelyn, and me, his only son, and my family (Michele, Zach, and Reagan). While sad, my Dad had a hell of a life and we celebrate it! He was a great person, husband, friend, Dad. He played baseball in high school and played in the Pacific Coast League at 3rd (clearly his athletic skills skipped a generation to his grandchildren!). He served his country in the Army as an MP in Germany during the Korean War. He met my Mom in January of 1968 and they married in Reno in April (barely 4 months) – they were married for 56 years! He was a loving and dedicated husband, who even did all the shopping after my Mom couldn’t drive anymore, driving to the store until he was 89! He had great friends from his childhood of which he hung out with yearly during their dinner reunions and Christmas parties. Nothing he loved more than being with his best friend Don Baroni (gone way too soon) - in his early years at Baroni’s Bar and later at the Ranch spending time with Frank Senior, Don, and later his children Frank, Mike, Steve, and Matt, and later still, his grandchildren, Frank and Andrew. And of course all the great friends there – Greg Connor, Brian Brady, George Potoc, and John Carney. He worked for over 30 years for Southern Pacific, Union Pacific, and Amtrack as a signal maintainer. What is a signal maintainer you ask? He’s the guy that fixes the crossing signals at railroad tracks, so we don’t get crushed by a train if the gates don’t come down. He got up every morning at 4:30am to drive to the City and usually didn’t get home until 4 or 5pm, and that doesn’t include the nights where he’d get called in because a huge storm took out dozens of gates that had to be fixed. And he was a great Dad. Every morning before he left for work, he’d quietly come into my room to tell me good bye. He played catch with me, even though he was tired as hell after work. He assistant coached my soccer team, even though he didn’t know shit about soccer. He built a basket on the top of our garage, so I could shoot around – and he’d let me play for hours even though it pissed him off every time I air balled and hit the garage door. He took me and my friends camping and fishing in the Delta. He took me hunting and was there when I got my first and only buck. He and my Mom were at all my soccer, little league, and basketball games. His support was unwavering and he never judged – he gave advice, but let me live my life. Yet he was there if I needed to talk or needed help. We drank together, we laughed together, and I got to know him not only as my Dad, but as a man. He taught me to be a hard worker, a good person, a good husband, a good friend, and what it takes to be a good father. Thank you Dad. I love you, I miss you, and I’ll see you on the other side.

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