In Loving Memory: Ron Knope: January 29, 1970–September 4, 2004
Our Story
Sometime before August, 2003, I joined a dating site. Often in the evenings after work, I’d log onto the site and spend some time in its chat room. It was there that I first met Ron.
I have no memory of our very first one-on-one conversation. I know it was while we were in that chat room, using the private-chat feature—and I know it was sometime before August 2003; but that’s as much as I can remember about it and as closely as I can place it.
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What Ron Means to Me
I wrote the following while Ron and I were dating.
Ron is caring, thoughtful, sweet, strong.....
He wants to help me feel better when I am down. What's even better, he can express his caring. He's not afraid to talk about emotions and about our relationship.
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My Eulogy
I wrote this in the days following Ron's death and read it at his funeral.
My name is Connie Winch. It was my privilege to be Ron Knope’s girlfriend…though in a way, he was even more than [my boyfriend]. He hadn’t asked me to marry him yet—it was much too early for that. But we became so close and grew to care for each other so much, that we were both pretty certain that we would get married someday.
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He Sent Me Cherries
It was my first birthday after Ron passed. I was spending the week with my brother and his girlfriend in San Francisco. My sister Debbie was there too. And even though they're great, it was still a hard day for me.
We were sightseeing that day, and among the places we went was the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts.
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The Mighty Warrior Who Advises the King
As soon as I had the idea, I knew I had to do it. If I could get it in gold.
I'd seen the necklace before, several times. It's one of the many on the website that I'd viewed every page of, several times, searching for something that was "me." I mean, they donate to Soaring Spirits; how could I not get something?
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Letter to Heaven
Dear Ron,
Today it has been 10 years since you left this earth. When I first realized that it would be 10 years soon, that seemed impossible to believe. How could it possibly be 10 years since I saw this sweet face?
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