Ronald (Roni) Travis Tharrington was born on October 22, 1946, in Ridgewood, NY, to James and Emily Tharrington. He is survived by his wife of 39 years and the love of his life, Deborah; his three children, Lisa, Travis, and Danielle; his granddaughters, Jalisa, Arielle, and Devyn; and his older brother, James Tharrington.
He was a lover of photography, politics, history, space, Abbott and Costello and Bela Lugosi movies, and of course, his NY Knicks, NY Mets, and NY Giants. He was a very stylish man, known in the neighborhood for his extensive collection of sports jackets and fitted caps. Our home was like a personal gallery of his brilliant photography - pictures ranging from city skylines to portraits of his family. He even had some of his photos displayed in calendars.
As a child, Roni was captivated by space and astronomy. He said that it all began when he saw the 1951 movie, The Thing from Another World. Once the United States entered the space race, he was hooked. He had a large collection of books, movies and every episode of Ancient Aliens. You could find him reading or watching something on the History Channel regarding space exploration in his spare time. He also never missed a space launch - the last one he saw was the Tesla space launch. He was so fascinated by the technology used to build the aircraft that went into space. His dream was to someday travel into space.
He lived a wonderful life and raised a beautiful family. Ronald was a sergeant in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. He retired from the United States Post Office in 2004 after 30 years. I recall my dad always saying things like, "Wow, I never thought I'd live to see the day ..." but papa, you lived, and you saw and experienced so many great things: the birth of your first grandchild, your children graduating from high school, college, and graduate school, you walked your youngest daughter down the aisle at her wedding…the list goes on.
He knew long before his bout with cancer that he wanted his ashes sent into space; he even researched for us. It means so much to honor him in this way and to fulfill his wish of going to space. While his presence here on earth is missed so much every day, we know that we have a bright star in the sky shining down on us.
Your loving family.
