Published on August 8, 2025 3:27 pm
Last Updated on August 11, 2025 2:47 pm
Ronald “Ronnie” Edward Buzzard, 83 of Beecher City, Illinois, passed away on Thursday, August7, 2025 at HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital in Effingham, Illinois.
Visitation will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, August 13, 2025, at Kaskaskia Church in rural Beecher City, with funeral services to follow visitation, beginning at 1 p.m. Burial will be at Bob Doane Cemetery in Beecher City. Services are in the care of Johnson Funeral Home in Effingham. Memorials may be made to Beecher City Meals on Wheels and Kaskaskia Church. Online condolences may be shared at www.johnsonandsonsfh.com.
Ronnie was born on May 3, 1942, in rural Tower Hill, IL, to Dean and Ruth (Doty) Buzzard. He was honored to marry Sherry Lynne Sarver on July 3, 1963, in Cowden, IL, to whom he enjoyed 54 years of marriage before her passing on November 24, 2017. Ronnie and Sherry were blessed with 4 children, and is survived by his “3 spoiled daughters”. Lynnette (Jim) Anderson, Shelley (Jack) Bowlin, and Brooke (Jared) Schlanser, all of Beecher City, IL.
Also surviving Ronnie are siblings Mary Jo (Bruce, deceased) Kessler, Dallas (Sherry) Buzzard, and Virgil (Vicki) Buzzard. Surviving grandchildren are Todd (Autumn) Anderson, Bryan Anderson, Josie Wallace, Quinton Wallace, Hallie (Luke) Spencer, Quaid Schlanser, Birgen Schlanser, Clive Schlanser, and Kase Schlanser. Great-grandchildren are Aiden, Averie, Aria, James and Briggs. Ronnie was preceded in death by his parents; wife; son, Gary Buzzard; and grandson, Michael Anderson.
Ronnie’s career began as a barber, and years down the road he insisted on giving all of his grandsons their first haircut. He would later work for Natural Gas Pipeline in rural St. Elmo where he taught himself to weld and became district welder until his retirement in 1996. Ronnie also farmed and custom baled hay while working at Natural Gas, working many nights by headlights to get his crops cared for. Later in life Ronnie and Sherry fell in love with Bear Branch Campground in Southern IL, and Ronnie enjoyed many horse rides and camping trips to the area.
Some of Ronnie’s greatest joys were to swap stories with his beloved siblings over their daily coffee and torment his sons-in-law, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Ronnie’s quick wit and sense of humor were unmatched and his story telling and jokes will be greatly missed by all that had the pleasure of knowing him.