If “A man’s soul can be judged by the way he treats his dog,” then Ronald Richard Nicholas is surely not to be worried about in the afterlife. On Easter Monday, Ron and his beloved dog, “Cole” went missing, having gone for a walk. After 21 days of search efforts by hundreds of SAR teams combing 27,000 acres of PA State Game Lands, he was found on April 25 by a crew of 12 men from the Christian Aid Ministries SAR team. Cole stayed with him through the end, only turning up after Ron had passed. He provided the biggest clue as to where to find Ron so that he could be laid to rest and his family could find comfort.

Ronald was a Pennsylvania native, born in Philadelphia on December 15, 1948, to Mary and Michael Nicholas. He graduated Lansdale Catholic class of ’67 to enter the Air Force which brought him to Florida, Colorado, Texas and Virginia. He settled in Virginia with his former wife, married 39 years, now Yvonne Edivan, also from the Lansdale area, to raise their 4 children, Aaron Nicholas, Sandra Snyder, Matthew Nicholas and Benjamin Nicholas.

Ron will live on in the memory of his four children and their families—Heather Nicholas, Mark Snyder, Jessica Nicholas and Samantha Nicholas. He was a wonderful “GrandPa” and “PopPop” to his legacy of six grandchildren and counting, Rowan, Sebastian, Stella, Jack, Zorica, and the brand new Olena, named after Ron’s Grandmother. His only brother Michael’s family were as close to him as any family members and the last to see him on Easter Monday morning. Cindy, Gene, Daniel and Jessica Alvarado along with Michael, Christine, Sydney, Emma, Bonnie and Sarah Nicholas were among Ron’s most cherished people.

Ron was an intellectual who always held out for quality career choices. While in the Air Force he became an instructor at Quantico in Virginia, moving on to the Association of American Railroads for 17 years, followed by The Federal Reserve and finally SAIC. Ron chose to live out his retirement in the Poconos.

Though he deeply enjoyed his solitude, he was a worldly man who had a passion for reading, absorbing history and keeping up on current events, both foreign and domestic. He was consumed by political affairs and always tried to present fair assessments or find humor in them. He possessed the “travel bug” in his words, loving to research a location and then travel there to experience it for himself. He spent his days fishing and cultivating crafts and hobbies, from model trains to horticulture, brewing, distilling, bee-keeping and most recently, photography. He loved to cook and share Ukrainian recipes from his childhood. Always up for a good conversation, he loved to discuss the past via photos and slides, highlighting favorite family memories. He was a music lover and tried to lead his life like a Hemingway book, planning road trips or long walks for him and Cole.

They don’t make them like Ron anymore; he was not only a “man’s man” who could literally fix anything, he was also a “Renaissance man” who took the time to learn something about everything and the wisdom he imparted carried his children through life as he remains their backbone for decision-making, just what you would hope for in a father-figure. A great and non-judgmental listener, he was sentimental, empathetic, loving and so very proud of his family. He loved his cabin, dog Cole, and his way of life. He left us all as his family believes he would have wanted, in Pennsylvania, on a nature walk with his trusty companion.

Services will be held at St. Stanislaus Church in Lansdale, PA at 10:30 am, Friday August 6, 2021. A celebration of life gathering will follow from 12 pm –2 pm. To contact the family if you are interested in attending the celebration of life, please private message the “Find Ron Nicholas” Facebook account. Thank you for celebrating our father with us. https://www.facebook.com/aaron.nicholas.9619.

In Lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to https://christianaidministries.org/pennsylvania-sar/, Pennsylvania Mountain Rescue or any PA K-9 SAR unit as these organizations /volunteers were the ones who found Ron and gave his family peace. A special thank you to all the PA locals, volunteers and entities who had a hand in recovering Ron to bring him home to rest. Your dedication will never be forgotten.