It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Ronald S. Frankel, 80, after an unexpected cerebrovascular accident. Ron was loved and adored by his family and friends and highly respected by his colleagues, whom he worked alongside with during his forty year career in public service as an Attorney-At-Law.
Born on December 31, 1943 in Brooklyn, New York to parents Max and Margot, he was raised in Miami, graduating from Coral Gables High School, and the University of Florida with his Bachelor’s and subsequent Juris Doctorate in 1968. Ron also received a Master of Laws degree from George Washington University law school in 1973. For 20 years, he proudly served his country as a Judge Advocate Officer in the United States Army, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1989.
Ron never sat still, and after moving to St. Petersburg with his late wife, Dr. Sharon Perlman Frankel in 1988, he continued to serve for 10 years in the Veterans Administration Office of General Counsel, as well as a decade as an Assistant State Attorney of Florida in the Sixth Judicial Circuit, Child Welfare Division. He was young at heart and thoroughly enjoyed teaching future professionals, administrative law and business law classes at both Stetson Law school and Eckerd College until recently, only sidelined by the sudden decline in his health.
He was an extremely active and long-term member of the American Society of Pediatric Nephrology (ASPN) Foundation, which he became involved in through his late wife. If you wanted to know where Ron was on most days, he was likely at Eckerd College attending a Hillel service, or engaging with students as part of the Academy of Senior Professionals at Eckerd College (ASPEC), where he served as the student liaison representative. We believe that if Eckerd College had a ROTC program he would’ve been a Triton instead of a Gator!
Previous to the pandemic, Ron rescued Greyhounds and was part of the pet therapy program with his many dogs over the years at All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, bringing joy to children, families, and staff alike. His love of dogs is evident as he could be seen in his neighborhood walking his pup Ivey multiple times and miles per day, earning him the nickname “Walkathon Ron”.
He loved to travel and do anything in or around water; whether it be exploring sea life under the water while scuba diving, walking on the beach, or cruising to many beautiful destinations on cruise ships. Ron was even known to be one of the oldest students to take and pass a sailing class at the University of South Florida when he was in his 60s!
Ron was a true lover of life; in addition to the above, he loved his family, friends, cars, football, chocolate, exercising at the Y, and St. Petersburg. He was extremely kind, unassuming, passionate, loving, and will never be forgotten.
Ron is preceded in death by Dr. Sharon Perlman-Frankel. He is survived by his beloved partner, Naomi Korn and two adoring daughters Jaymie (Claire) and Meagen (Dom). He also leaves six beautiful grandchildren: Jackson, Alli, Clemente, Carina, Sophie, and Tony. The family wants to thank the staff at Accentcare Hospice at Oak Manor, Adam Prawer, MD, and Waymaker services, all of whom enabled us to provide Ron dignity and comfort in his final days.
Funeral services Have been rescheduled due to weather conditions, and will now be held at 10:00AM Tuesday, October 15th, at Temple Beth-El, 400 Pasadena Ave. S., St. Petersburg. Interment with full military honors will follow at Sarasota National Cemetery at 1:30 PM. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in Ron’s memory to the charity of your choice.
Wayne & I want to send our deepest condolences to Ron’s family & friends. We met Ron & Sharon in 2008 when we rented their condo in St. Pete Beach. It’s not very often that one can say that you become friends with your landlord but we always felt that we were friends & they treated us as such which was much appreciated.
Both he & Sharon were the nicest people & we are so saddened to hear of Ron’s passing. May he rest in peace.
My condolences to Ron’s Family and girlfriend. When I received the news from Ron’s daughter, it was quite surprising. He was one of the most active energetic people I ever met. He was probably 45 when I first met Ron and he never changed..
He was always a jokester and tried to make light of serious issues to help people not be so stressed.
We had a plan to meet at Eckerd College for lunch when he got back from a cruise. Sorry that that never happened and it will just have to wait. ❤️🙏🏼
Our work departments shared a floor. He was a delight to be near. I’ll always remember his laugh.
So saddened to hear of Ron’s passing. We worked together at the SAO in the early 2000. He was my mentor and my friend. I always enjoyed working with Ron because he had such an uplifting personality. He will be missed. My deepest condolences to the family.
Will be missed by many ❤️
I kayaked with your dad at Eckerd College. We are in ASPEC and your dad was always so much fun to be around. We are going to miss him. I am so so sorry for your loss.
So sorry for the loss of your dad Jaymie. We only met him a few times but he was always so sweet. I know how close you were to him and he will truly be missed. Take care of yourself and Jackson in your period of grief.
I’m so sad to hear this. Ron and I worked together at Stetson Law. He was an energetic bundle of joy the whole time I knew him.
Ron was my only first cousin, and although we had been out of touch for a very long time, we were just getting back in communication. I will miss him. But as a result of his passing I have been exchanging family stories with Ron’s family, which is an ongoing and rewarding experience.
Naomi, my heart is heavy with sadness for you, for the loss of your partner and the struggle to fill the empty spots. know that i send compassion and the warmth of our old memories
I haven’t written until now as Ron’s loss hits very hard, and I didn’t have the words…. My dad and Ron’s dad, Uncle Max, were brothers who escaped Germany during the beginning of the holocaust. (My dad came over first, to New York, and some time later he “sponsored” uncle Max to come over.) As I child, I first met cousin Ronnie, Uncle Max and Aunt Margot back in 1960, when my dad took us on a road trip from our home in Houston to Miami. I remember noticing the affection between my dad and Uncle Max as being so strong. That affection just automaticaly carried over to Ron. We all adored him. To me, Ron always represented the best qualities of our family; kind, curious, upbeat, dedicated, always looking on the bright side, easy to talk to, and always made you feel like you were special. I remember wishing our families didn’t live so far apart. Growing up, I only got to see Ronnie at “events”; Bar Mitzvahs, weddings, and saddly, funerals. But somehow, whenever Ron was there, everything felt better. As we grew older we stayed in touch by phone. We shared our thoughts about all sorts of things, how our lives were going, how the kids and Sharon were doing, his passion for scuba diving, his experiences teaching and all that it entailed. There was never a sour note. My only regret is not staying in closer touch. It heartens me to know that he and Naomi “found” each other, and that he had such a good friend and partner after losing Sharon. He raised two great kids and I praythat like me, they have nothing but good and loving memories to look back on. My world has grown a little dimmer without Ron, but I know he would want us to carry on with a spring in our step and only focus on the gift we had in knowing him. May God grant us all comfort in his loss.