Ron Eliason

Ronald L. Eliason, was born on September 16, 1941. He was the son of Junior and Mary Eliason. He grew up with two brothers and a sister on the family farm in central Kansas 5 miles outside of Gypsum playing and doing chores (which none of us liked). Ron was active in 4-H beginning when he was eight years old. He raised and trained a baby beef to show at the county fair each year. He was active in and excelled at basketball and baseball during his school years. He especially liked baseball and after high school pitched for several town teams in the Arapahoe area. He also enjoyed golf and played often at the Arapahoe course. He especially liked hitting a long drive. He began driving a car at 14, the legal age at that time. When Dad got us our first car to run errands and drive ourselves to school he also established strict speed limits for our driving. Years later one of our neighbors said they could always tell when Ron was driving because as soon as he went over the first hill, he was out of sight from the farm as his speed dramatically increased! Ron graduated from Kansas State University with a Bachelor's of Science in Feed Technology. Being not satisfied with the job offers he received from the companies he interviewed, he returned to Arapahoe and, went to work in the grain business with his father. Ron soon displayed a growing passion and skill for success in the business and in realizing and responding to the needs of farmers, his primary clientele. His self-education was intense and continuous. He achieved a degree of knowledge and analytical skill on a high level resulting in calls to give major presentations before agricultural groups across the country, especially in the Great Plains and Midwest states. His counsel and expertise was also sought privately by small and large individual operators. After successfully operating the Arapahoe grain and fertilizer business started by his father, he worked for Evans Grain Co. of Salina, Kansas and in the agricultural division of Koch Enterprises. There he met his future business partners and close friends. They have enjoyed 15-plus years of great success and brotherly friendship to this day. Ron willingly shared his knowledge with anyone who asked. He married Darlene Mosbarger and her three daughters, Debra, Darcie, and Dawn in 1977. Although the girls were not his own, they are daughters of his heart. He was involved in their lives and the lives of their families. He was active in his church in Arapahoe as well as in Wichita. Ron was preceded in death by his parents and his infant sister Mary Anna. Ron leaves behind his wife, Darlene; daughters, Debra (Michael) Spector, Darcie (Jay) Garber, and Dawn (Kyle) Wiegert; grandchildren, Aaron Larosche, Noelle (Scott) Durkee, McKayla and Conner, Zachary and Joshua Spector, and Trevor Wiegert. Other relatives include brothers, Eldon Eliason, Don Eliason; sister, Margaret Patton; and nephews, Scott Eliason, John and Bourke Patton and their families.

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