Echoes from the Hills
“Ronald Vandiver, a remarkable life” by Bob N. Justus
I
met Ronald Vandiver after I retired from the Air Force in 1971. His parents were Eathel “Red” and Ruby Kirby Vandiver. From what I recall, Ronald’s forebears had been among the first settlers in the Tallulah Falls area. He loved this historical place and school and spoke up for its best interests. Ron attended Tallulah Falls, Young Harris College and Piedmont College, receiving a bachelor’s degree in business and a master’s degree in public administration. He was an avid reader and had hundreds of books lining the walls of his living room. From youth Ron loved history, adventures, camping, hunting, fishing and exploring. He worked with his father building houses and buying land, and spent the fall and winter exploring the West, taking big game and learning Western lore and history. He also made trips to Alaska.
Wind River and still had a few horses and some acreage left of his ranch. Larry told interesting stories of pioneers in the area and especially of Butch Cassidy, whom he believed was not killed in South America. We visited Yellowstone Park and also the Buffalo Bill Museum at Cody. On these journeys I was amazed at Ron’s knowledge of the West and its people and history, as well as the local and family history in the Northeast Georgia area. In sharing a room in the Black Bear Motel in Dubois with Ronald on the last trip I noticed he was in some pain. He also had to see a doctor, which concerned us. We enjoyed breakfast at Daylight Donut Village Restaurant where local people and travelers mingled, ate and talked and soaked in the atmosphere. From a window we saw the sun’s rays highlight the peaks and creep down into the valley. One of my photos shows Ron in overalls, a fishing rod in hand, standing on a rock by a trout stream off Union Pass Road in the Wind River Mountains. Larry Miller promised on our next trip West to take us by horseback into the Wind River Mountains. It was never to be! Ron, stricken by cancer, was taken by his family to see Wyoming and the West one more time. He died on April 29, 2005. Ronald Vandiver, son of pioneers, mountain man, a lover of the softer Blue Ridge Mountains and the lofty, rugged peaks of the American West, I think of you walking along the beautiful River of Life, exploring a new world.
In life he had been a builder, contractor, historian, banker, county manager and investor. Concerned over a daughter’s health crisis he prayed and accepted Jesus Christ as Savior. He said, “I felt God’s actual presence and his dynamic power entered my body and soul. Whatever happens to me I am ready to go, but I’ll live as long as he permits.“ It is after his conversion I came to know Ron. After his conversion, he got rid of many guns and trophies. Recently a man told me Ron had been a dear friend and the most amazing man he ever met. I’ll always regret not having more time with him. I treasure my adventures with Ron! We shared two trips to Wyoming. He loved the upper Wind River area where he owned land and planned on a second home. He knew several residents of the area connected to the past. I love history and thus learned much from him on trips. With Ron, a group including Ralph Heddon, Brothers Ray and Ralph Reed and I went on journeys centered primarily in Wyoming, especially the Dubois area. We camped at Wiggins Fork in the Absarokas 22 miles north of Dubois and also in the Wind River Mountains. A retired rancher and outfitter named Larry Miller and his wife, originally from North Carolina, lived below Dubois on the
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September 2015
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