This afternoon about 2:30, Ronnie B. Sharpe, who turned 60 on June 2, 2010, left that cancer ravaged body with which he had suffered for the past 9 months and arrived at Heaven's gate. While all of his friends here will miss Ronnie terribly, he's up there looking for his old friends Joe Penland, Tiny Lund, Fireball Roberts and many more. For, you see, Ronnie was a NASCAR race fan from his earliest years. He traveled with his father to Daytona, Darlington, Charlotte and other tracks, but he absolutely loved The Historic Columbia Speedway. He was there almost every Thursday night.
There are so many good and fine things one could say about Ronnie Sharpe, and trying to pick just one or two of those things is most difficult and while I am not known for brevity in the usual sense, tonight my heart is heavy as I realize I won't have Ronnie to talk about all those "good old races" that he could remember almost lap for lap. So many conversations, so many times we would watch the old film of the races from the 50s and 60s and relive those glory days of our youth.
Ronnie loved his wife Annette! Period. Without question. And she was by his side in the best of times attending all the events connected with racing that Ronnie wanted to attend. She was by his side 24/7 during this entire seemingly never ending suffering from cancer. She adored Ronnie and will miss him terribly.
Ronnie loved stock car racing. From the short tracks to the big tracks. He had stories of things he did in his younger days which would cause Mike Helton and the NASCAR brass heart problems. He actually jumped the infield fence in the 70s when the big wreck happened and was helping some of the drivers out of their cars. Ronnie would just walk into the garage area at Daytona or Darlington and take pictures and talk with drivers. It never occured to him that he should have pit credentials. You see, Ronnie was truly an innocent person. He believed in everyone. He trusted everyone and in turn, few would ever question him as to where he was going or what he was doing in the pits.
Ronnie's love for racing was deep and strong and he had his favorites. Rex White is someone Ronnie adored. Rex has been very, very kind in calling Ronnie almost weekly during his illness and spending a good amount of time with Ronnie when he was in the area. As for those in Heaven he is looking for, Tiny, Joe, and Fireball are in for a treat. Joe Penland was a good friend to Ronnie and Annette and spent a great deal of time with them. Ronnie always thought that was such an honor that Joe would do that but, before he died, Joe told me just how much it meant to HIM to have Ronnie and Annette as his friends. As for Tiny and Fireball, Ronnie and Annette made almost annual trips to the grave site of each to spend a few minutes honoring those heroes. How many people do you know who do that today? Frankly, how many race fans outside of Racers Reunion, know who Fireball and Tiny even were? Ronnie did.
Before he was forced to quit working, Ronnie would call my cell every morning between 8:15 and 8:30 as he drove the landscape truck across the state delivering trees. We would talk about racing, the weather, the trees he was delivering, and anything else he may have had on his mind that day. Every time, and I reiterate, EVERY TIME, at the end of the conversation, he would thank me for taking his call. That's the kind of guy Ronnie was. He appreciated life, he appreciated all his friends and he believed there is good in everyone. Maybe that's why Ronnie and I were such good friends. I have pretty much that same belief. One thing I know for sure is that there was plenty of good in Ronnie Sharpe.
Our world is a little less bright tonight. But up there at the Big Race Track, things are bright. Why not? Raymond Parks is there as someone who helped start NASCAR and Ronnie Sharpe is there as someone who supported the sport with all his heart. I hope Joe, Fireball and Tiny are in a talkative mood tonight!
--
What a change! It's been awhile since I've checked in and I'm quite surprised. It may take me awhile to figure it our but first look it's really great.
updated by @tim-leeming: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM
