I encouraged Ron to sit down and visit with me about his life, his experiences, and his motivations for establishing a scholarship for students at Sacred Heart. Many of us think about our lives as ordinary, perhaps unexciting. But what I have found is that there are, truly, no ordinary stories. C.S. Lewis wrote, in his essay The Weight of Glory, “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with…”
Ron retired from the North Dakota University System in 2018 where he worked for 36 years as a Programmer Analyst. Ron’s story is no exception to this rule. He is a man who has walked in step with the technological revolution that took us from the beginnings of computers to the internet age.
Ron grew up on North Third Street four blocks from Sacred Heart. Ron was born to Wallace and Henrietta (Moleski) LaMoine in 1951. Ron’s parents also had four other children, Father Gary LaMoine, Diane, Jim, and Lori. Ron’s dad was a Grand Knight and he was active in the parish as a member of the choir as well as a lector. When the children were young, he brought them to Mass every morning on the way to work at American Crystal Sugar Company.
The LaMoine family moved to the south end of East Grand Forks (the Point) in 1965, where they bought five acres for a hobby farm. Wally loved planting a garden and raised early potatoes. In the 70’s, Wally had a barn moved onto the property for stabling horses and later selling eggs from a thousand-plus chickens. Ron helped his dad throughout these ventures.
After graduating from Sacred Heart in 1969, Ron went to Richardton, ND in the western part of the ND to attend Assumption College for two years. Five other classmates also attended. It was a rewarding experience because of the variety of students from different states. The cafeteria overlooked a big valley which was very scenic. The monks would sit in silence on one side and the students on the other side. The Assumption poster said “Listen to the Quiet”. We should do it more often!
Returning to East Grand Forks, he worked at the American Crystal Sugar Company for one campaign and a summer in the sugar warehouse and then the Medical Center Rehabilitation Hospital in the receiving department for two years. Ron went back to school in 1976 and earned an Accounting Degree. In 1980, he returned to UND to earn a second degree in Computer Science. After graduating in December of 1981, there was a job opening at the UND Computer Center. This was the beginning of his 36 year career. At that time, an IBM mainframe was used and all the programs were written by the programmers. In 2003, the North Dakota University System purchased a web based software so the students could sign on to the software for registering, financial aid and other services.
In 1995, his parents moved to the northern part of East Grand Forks. Ron acquired the north two and a half acres and built a house where he currently lives. He says 60 years is a long time to live in one place. Ron is a member of the Knights of Columbus and is involved in the Mass ministries. He also enjoys serving at Masses and Communion Services at the Good Samaritan Village.
Since 2014, Ron has traveled throughout Europe on 5 different pilgrimages. They include the Holy Land, then Italy, then Lourdes in southern France, Santiago in Spain and Fatima in Portugal, then Poland and lastly Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Ron began researching his family genealogy in the 1980’s. His dad’s family was from Quebec and his brothers and sisters were very interested in their genealogy. It is now easier to do because the FamilySearch website is free to do the research and build the Family Tree.
His mom’s father (Stanley Moleski) came from Poland when he was around 19 years old and her mother (Anna Pribula) came from the Tabor area north of East Grand Forks. Ron is the only one working on the family tree and says simply, “I think it’s important to everyone to know where they come from.”
It’s all about roots. For Ron, the roots of his parents, his grandparents, and so on, are part of his story. The roots of a home - to be carefully maintained through the decades. Also, the roots of his Catholic Faith. He has had the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of the history of that Faith on his many pilgrimages. He also noted how important faith has been to him throughout his life - he wants young men and women to have that same opportunity to learn in an environment where they can grow from those same roots of faith.
When Ron’s parents had passed, he began thinking about establishing a scholarship for Sacred Heart. In 2018 he began this fund. Our roots connect to our past, but they also leave a place for us in the future, to be part of the roots of the next generation, the next branch of the tree. It just makes sense to Ron, who talks about his “ordinary life” to give to that future. We are so grateful at Sacred Heart for all the people like Ron who give to help others grow.
We invite you to prayerfully consider giving a gift to the Ron LaMoine Scholarship today. Join him in building up the roots of the Sacred Heart Family Tree.
