Ronald J.Odawa Sr

Ronald Joseph Srodawa died on Wednesday January 1st, 2014, at Carol's Adult Foster Home in Port Sanilac, Michigan at the age of 70. His wife Patricia and sons Joseph and John were with him when he died of complications of Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Srodawa is survived by his wife of 45 years, Patricia Ann Srodawa of Brown City, Michigan. He is also survived by his brother, Richard Michael Srodawa his wife, Sandra and their daughters Elizabeth Espinoza, Amanda Vaspartis and Catherine Weirauch. He leaves two sons and their families, Joseph Ronald Srodawa of Morristown, NJ, and John Patrick Srodawa of Brown City, MI. Also surviving are two daughters-in-law, Susan Marie Uptain and Suzanne Marie Srodawa. Five grandchildren remember him fondly, Claire Srodawa of Melvin MI, David Creeach of Ann Arbor, MI, and Madeleine, Zoe and Elyse Srodawa of Morristown, NJ. Looking at photo albums the past few days, we are reminded of how much he loved his family and relished time spent with them. His infectious smile is captured in every picture. He enjoyed sharing hobbies of photography and archery with us all. His patience and light-hearted sense of humor permeated his daily interactions with others. When he wasn't working, he and his wife Patricia were usually dining at Frankenmuth, dancing at Metro Beach Park, or walking the Lake Michigan shore together photographing lighthouses. Ronald Srodawa married Patricia Niedzwiecki on June 14, 1968. Many of us remember their 25th wedding celebration party at Meadowbrook Hall in Rochester, MI. They shared a loving life together in Michigan until health issues prompted the family to move Ronald to a caring adult foster home in 2011. Dr. Srodawa earned his Bachelor of Science degree (Magna cum Laude, 1965) from the University of Detroit, a Master of Arts degree from The University of Michigan (Mathematics, 1966) and a Doctor of Philosophy in Computer and Communications Sciences from the University of Michigan in 1972. He was appointed an instructor at Wayne State University in 1971 (while completing his doctorate) in Mathematics, later becoming an Assistant Professor and playing a critical role in building the department by serving as acting Department Chair. He moved to Oakland University as Associate Professor of Engineering and Computer Science in 1982. His professional life included academic research, teaching bachelor, and doctoral students and consulting for Ford Motor Company. His greatest professional joy came from teaching and he was justifiably proud of having instructed thousands of students during his career. Importantly, Ronald was one of the founding developers of the Merit Network, which was a precursor to the Internet developed to help scientists exchange electronic data between campuses. His family plans to honor Ronald's life with a memorial service at St Elizabeth's Catholic Church in Marlette, MI on Saturday the 22nd of February. The church is located at 6817 W. Marlette Rd. 48453. The family will begin greeting guests at 10:15am with the service starting at 11:00am. The memorial service will be followed by lunch in the church hall. If you would like to attend the memorial service, please RSVP by February 14th with an email to srodawaj@gmail.com or by calling (810) 265-6980. Please include the number of attendees. Cremation services have been provided by Apsey Funeral Home, Deckerville. The Srodawa Family would like memorials to be sent to the Alzheimer's Foundation, Southfield, MI., in lieu of flowers, at http://www.alz.org/ Condolences may be sent to apseyfuneralhome.net