Ron Fithian

Ronald Lowell Fithian

Ron passed peacefully at his beloved home in the timbered hills of northwest Nebraska on Friday April 17, 2026, with family at his side. He was 62 years old.

Our Dad, husband, hero and role model. He was truly one of a kind. A hard rock blaster, a mountain man, an Alaskan hunting guide, a diesel mechanic, a passionate gun owner and Patriot, a problem solver, a loving father and husband. And so much more. He was a man with true grit. Thank you for always encouraging us to be the best version of ourselves. You lived life on your own terms.

We are mad, sad and in shock at the fact that we lost you. Especially when you wanted so badly to stay and put up the most courageous battle and never once complained. Your strength is the biggest inspiration to us. We will live out each day in honor of you and hope to make you proud. We love you so much, Dad, Ron, Ronnie, and we will miss you forever. Your passing has left a huge hole in our lives.

Ronnie was born in September 1963 in Denver, Colorado. He grew up hunting, fishing, trapping, competitive shooting, cutting firewood, and working on his aunt and uncle’s ranch in Texas Creek, Colorado. He tinkered with engines from a young age and graduated from Denver Diesel College in 1984. He lived in Livermore, Colorado for over 35 years. Ron was an entrepreneur, and in 1998 started Colorado Hardrock Blasting using John Henry excavator-mounted drills. His son Daniel later joined him and learned the blasting business. Ron could build and fix anything. Ronnie was an avid hunter, and a licensed assistant guide in Alaska, working at his brother Robert’s hunting camp in the western Alaska Range for many years.

Some of Ronnie’s favorite music artists were C. W. McCall, John Denver and Waylon Jennings, and he loved John Wayne movies and reading Elmer Keith books. He served as volunteer firefighter, EMT and chief, for the Glacier View Volunteer Fire Department. It was here that he met and married his true love, Kathy Orloski. He was also a volunteer fire fighter and EMT for the Livermore Fire Protection District.

Ron and Kathy bought a home with acreage in the Pine Ridge near Crawford, Nebraska in 2018. Ronnie loved this land. His creativity and work ethic are evident everywhere from a stone hearth and walnut mantel to a large garden, managing their forested ground, cutting firewood, and enjoying a small herd of Herefords. Ron didn’t talk much about his faith, and it was during this time that he began attending Open Door Church, where he found comfort in his relationship with our Lord and savior. He enjoyed trips to Harrison, Nebraska, learning more about where his father lived as a teenager, and finding the grave of his paternal great grandmother Margaret Elizabeth Combs Woodard-Flores. Most of all, he cherished his children.

Ron was preceded in death by his parents, Richard Grant Fithian and Alice Mary (Marr) Thompson, and grandparents John and Josephine Marr and Esther and Oscar Skavdahl.

He will be forever loved and deeply missed by his wife and partner in life, Kathy Orloski Fithian, and their two children, Daniel Fithian and MacKayla Fithian. By his sisters and brothers, Lynda Lee Malone Kelly, Robert (Barbara) Fithian, Judy Fithian, Jackie (Larry) Young, and Roger (Tina) Fithian, nephew Anthony (Andrea) Lopez, Uncles Douglas Marr and Bill Keiss, nieces, nephews, cousins, and lifelong friends Ron (Lucy) Barks, Mike (Holly) Madrid, and Tammy Spencer. And by his beloved border collie, Allie.

We take comfort in knowing he is healthy and whole again. As well as getting into some trouble in Heaven with Kent Spencer. A tribute to Ronnie’s life will be held in Livermore, Colorado at the Livermore Community Hall on Saturday, November 7, 2026 at 3:00 pm.