Mr. Ronald Caswell

January 10, 1954 - June 12, 2019

Ronald Alan Caswell passed away on Wednesday, June 12, 2019 in his home after a year of coping with brain cancer. He was born in Binghamton, New York on January 10, 1954 as the only child of William and Dawn (Furman) Caswell. When Ron was six, his family moved to Clark Summit, Pennsylvania where Ron lived for the remainder of his childhood. He joined the Coast Guard in February 1972 of his senior year in high school and served for four years. He was initially assigned to the Loran Station Attu in Alaska for 13 months and served his remaining duty in New Smyrna Beach, FL. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering Technology in 1981 from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Ron is survived by his wife Judith “Judy” Krohn and his mother Dawn. He was preceded in death by his father Bill in 2017. Ron also leaves behind his Aunts Joan Petraske and Jean Kornegay, and numerous cousins on both sides of his family. Ron married Judy in 2009 in Titusville, FL and became a loved member of her large family of eight siblings. Connection with family was extremely important to Ron as demonstrated in his visits and conversations with all family members. Through his numerous trips to Alaska to visit his parents over 41 years, Ron also developed extremely close relationships with several families that he claimed as his Alaskan family. Ron enjoyed adventure and being active especially in the form of travel and in nature. From June 2017 to May 2018, he and Judy accomplished Ron’s dream of traveling from Titusville, FL to Wasilla, Alaska and back while driving Ron’s prized 2017 Ford Diesel F250 Lariat truck and camping in their Rockwood 35 ft travel trailer. Kayaks and bicycles were included in this trip and used often. Ron was most proud of his career in the space program. His last working experience was for Orbital ATK at Wallops Island, Virginia from Dec.2015 to Nov.2016 as an engineer helping to successfully return the facility to flight by launching an Antares rocket with a Cygnus capsule to resupply the International Space Station. His greatest satisfaction though came from his three decades of involvement with the International Space Station (ISS) payloads and Space Shuttle program. He worked for RCA at Patrick Air Force Base (1981 – 1985), McDonnell Douglas/Boeing at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) (1985 – 2000), Lockheed Martin at KSC (2000 – 2004) and Barrios Technologies at KSC (2004 – 2009). When Ron wasn’t occupied with job responsibilities, he loved giving tours at KSC and speaking on behalf of the Space Shuttle program and the ISS to individuals and groups throughout the country. He was a passionate spokesperson for our nation’s space dreams and was honored to have spent 20 years building the International Space Station, what he called the world’s largest ever international peace time project. Ron loved people and made friends wherever he went. He was just as passionate about his friendships as he was about the space program. He often opened his condo located along the Indian River Lagoon across from KSC to others for a great view of the numerous shuttle launches. He was quick to share a smile, story or a helping hand. He was most noted for sharing his gift of photography especially his early morning sunrise photos through emails he sent. Ron’s warm and enthusiastic ways will truly be missed. A CaringBridge site was started for Ron by his wife Judy on June 7, 2018 to share their healthcare challenge with a small group of friends and family. If you are interested in reading more about Ron and Judy’s journey, it is now set to open access for anyone to view by going to the site and searching for Ron Caswell. www.caringbridgecom A celebration of life service will be held for Ron in Alaska and also Titusville at a future date. Please check Ron’s caringbridge.org site for details. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hospice of St. Francis in Titusville, FL. www.hosffoundation.org/ways-to-give