With sadness, gratitude and love we want to share that our head coach, Ron Prichard, age 79 went to heaven on Thursday, February 19th, 2026. It was the best day of his life as he went to personally meet his Lord and Savior. Ron is now seated in heavenly places, where there is no pain and Jesus is more than enough. We know that he never really belonged to us. He always belonged to Him. Ron was born on September 26, 1946 to Hayden and Leonora Pritchard (Druschke). He will be missed by his sister, Debbie Sander, by me, his wife of 53 years, Jean (Geiger) and our 3 children, Anthony married to Kimberly Jastrowski, Jenny, married to Neil Hendricks and Tania married to Dan Aiken. His memory will live on through our 7 cherished grandchildren - Macie Pritchard, Lainey Pritchard, Kobe Hendricks, Olivia Aiken, Jackson Hendricks, Liliana Aiken and Lexi Hendricks.
Ron grew up in Shorewood, WI, and moved to Germantown when he was 10 years old. Baseball was the love of his life, and as long as he had playmates and a grassy field he was happy. Ron played in three leagues as a “Lefty” pitcher until he was 77 years old.
Ron attended Germantown High School, graduated in 1965 and enlisted in the Marine Corps immediately after, at age 18. He proudly served in active duty from 1965 to 1969, and in the reserves until 1971. He did two tours in Vietnam, which left him with both physical and emotional scars. Ron’s patriotism and love of country were an important part of who he was. After his military service he earned a business degree and worked in banking for his entire career.
Ron’s favorite activity, (besides playing almost any sport), was playing with or watching his grandchildren play sports. No game was too far away or too late for him. If he had his folding chair and a Diet Coke, he would sit for hours or days, perched right behind the batter’s box, watching each pitch, evaluating the performance or the strategy. He was just a quiet spectator, never questioning an umpire or a ref - it was Pa Ron in his happy place. Basketball, volleyball, tennis and football were the other kids’ sports he thoroughly enjoyed watching. The 2024 Slinger High School State Football Championship season, including his two grandsons, Kobe and Jack, was a highlight of his life.
In 2022, Ron’s active lifestyle began to diminish with his diagnosis of Myelodysplastic Syndrome - a rare type of bone marrow cancer resulting from his exposure to toxic chemicals in Vietnam and Camp Lejeune. Although it sometimes felt unfair to his family, Ron never regretted his military service or complained about his unfortunate prognosis. He continued to live his best life, squeezing in as many family vacations and fun activities as he could, in the short time he had left. For his last several years Ron’s quality of life became greatly compromised as he spent many months as an inpatient at the VA Hospital, or confined to an infusion chair, receiving chemo and blood transfusions. When I called Ron our hero the day before he died, he reminded me that the term “hero” is a sacred word reserved only for his buddies that did not come home. Ron was a man who loved hard and played hard. His faith in God and his love of family will forever be his legacy. He will be dearly missed and always lovingly remembered. “In these moments of heartbreaking grief, remember the only reason we have an empty space is because we have been blessed with someone who loved us so beautifully, it occupied an entire part of our soul.”
A celebration of Ron’s life with military honors is being planned for Friday, March 20 at 11:AM at Crossway Church in Germantown, WI. Visitation will be from 9AM - 10:45 AM. A lunch will follow the service at Blades Golf in Germantown at 12:30 PM. We gratefully suggest memorials in Ron’s honor be sent to his favorite charity, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.