Ron Ansin Trustee, Parent, Benefactor, Friend by Joseph Sheppard P’93, ’94
As Dan Scheibe wrote to the LA community shortly after Ron Ansin’s passing over the summer, “Ron was a generational force at Lawrence Academy, serving the school as a trustee over five decades, from the 1980s to the 2020s. Ron’s leadership and governance skills were unparalleled, but what set him apart was his ability to connect with and relate to everyone around him from an unshakable base of decency and affection. “Ron claimed all of the available real estate on an LA nametag: P’80, ’83, ’85, ’87; GP’03, ’05, ’14. Fittingly, his manner of care to an institution was as a thoughtful parent or grandparent: He asked, ‘What can we do to ensure the health and happiness of future generations through the things we uphold and create?’ In trying to pinpoint LA’s unique quality, Ron noted, “It’s the very warm, supportive atmosphere that they can see just by looking around the Quad.” Ron carried this quality of
L-R: Chris Margraf P’24, ’27, Ben Williams, and Ron Ansin
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warmth and support with him and shared it generously. Ron Ansin always remembered your name. And once you’d met him, you couldn’t forget the warm smile, the firm handshake, and the kind words with which he greeted you every time you saw each other. Successful in business for many years, Ron became a philanthropist — not because that’s what one does when one has the means to do so, but because it gave him pleasure to give in ways that made things better. It was just in his nature. He saw four children and three grandchildren through Lawrence Academy and was deeply grateful for what the school did for them. “To me, when I give, the major thing that is in my mind is what LA has done for my children,” he said a few years ago. “That’s what really opens the eyes of parents to why Lawrence is a special place.”
L-R: Ron Ansin, Bill Mees, and George Chamberlain P’79, ’81
