Ronald Joseph Aviet

Ronald Joseph Aviet most recently of Winter Park, Florida (2019-2024), formerly of Calcutta, India (1922-1965), Toronto and Montreal, Canada (1965-78) and Laguna Beach, California (1978-2019), passed away peacefully in his sleep on April 27, 2024, aged 102 years and two months. He is preceded in death by his parents and three sisters, Gladys, Edna and Agnes. Ronald is survived by his daughter, Gilane Meyer, his son-in-law, Edward Meyer, grandchildren Curtis and Celeste Meyer, and great-grandchild Kiran Brelje. Ronald was educated at St, Xavier's Jesuit College in Calcutta, India. Before immigrating to Canada, he was a founding member of the Calcutta Jaycees*, and manager of a tea estate in Darjeeling, India. In the 1950s he travelled in conjunction with the Jaycees throughout the Middle East, Hong Kong and the Philippines. Later he would also travel in England, France, and Germany. In Canada Ron taught high-school business classes on the Mohawk Indigenous reserve at Caughnawaga, Quebec. He also taught driving school, although he didn’t own a car for more than half of his life, and never drove again once he moved to the United States. Immigrating to Southern California in 1978, he pursued his passions full-time, becoming a respected and acclaimed watercolor landscape artist, completing over 1,000 works, samples of which are in homes and galleries in more than a dozen countries around the world. He practiced yoga, meditation and Indian philosophies, including vegetarianism, and well into his 90s he was an outspoken avid letter writer for both political and environmental issues. He was a voracious reader and a serious chess enthusiast. Always a lover of music, especially Frank Sinatra, he amassed a large CD collection and was able to vacation in Sinatra’s famous Palm Desert Rancho Mirage compound three times, including a memorable 92nd birthday. Since retiring to Winter Park in 2019 he continued to enjoy live jazz music whenever possible, local theatre, dancing at St Margaret Mary social functions, and “birding” with his grandson, Curtis. He was lucky enough to meet and hold his great grandchild Kiran in December of ’23, the same month he had his last dance at the St Margaret Mary senior’s Christmas party. He went to his last music concert on his 102nd birthday in February, and attended his last play at the Winter Park Playhouse on Palm Sunday, March 24th. He was never in real pain, but by mid-April he was ready to go home to his maker, and often ended conversations in his last days with the quote: “Never get old”. The Jaycees are an international civic organization dedicated to teaching business development and management skills to people ages 18 to 40 A funeral service will be held on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 at 10:00 AM In lieu of flowers, please donate to Mother Theresa's Missionaries of Charity or a "nature" charity of your choice.

Ronald Joseph Aviet

February 12, 1922 - April 27, 2024