Ronald Wayne Dye passed away peacefully in his home on February 6th, 2026.  He was living his best life in a retirement community surrounded by new friends and his West coast family.

Ron grew up in Norman Oklahoma and graduated from Norman High School.  After high school, Ron joined the Army and served two tours of duty in Vietnam.  Ron was honorably discharged from active duty after earning a Purple Heart for his heroic sacrifices during the Vietnam War.  After returning to Oklahoma, Ron married the love of his life, Joan Estelle Dobson on October 4th, 1969.  Ron and his wife and their two sons, Wayne and Chris would eventually settle in Edmond Oklahoma where Ron and his lifelong love lived until the passing of his wife in 2020.  They raised two boys, Wayne and Chris, who went on to build their own families, in Oklahoma and Washington respectively.  Wayne passed away in 2019 leaving behind Ron’s grandchildren Phoenix, Britani and AJ.  Ron was able to move to Washington shortly after the passing of his wife to live out the rest of his life with his surviving son Chris, Daughter-in-law Mindett and granddaughter Ellie.  In his Washington era, Ron made friends with every trip down the hall, every art class, every evening dinner and every card night and leaves behind so many of those friends with his passing.  For four good years, he touched the lives of numerous people on the West coast with a smile and an Oklahoma drawl.

At his heart, Ron was an artist.  Whether it was his garage rock band in Norman called the Greasers, working as a Commercial Graphic Artist with Central Sales Promotions, his award winning woodworking, his pencil drawings turned into wall art, making jewelry with his retirement friends  or even the time he painted that four foot tall Smurf on his son Chris’ wall, he always found the beauty in everything around him (so many stops for photos) and he managed to create a lot of his own.

Ron is survived by

Sister: Bonnitta Hooper, her husband Mike Hooper, niece Bailie and her husband Ryan Cobble and their daughter Murphy Alice as well as nephew Mikey Hooper and his daughter Cora Rae.

Son: Chris Dye and his family Mindett and Ellie

Nephew: James Lewis and his son Tyler Lewis

Grandson and Granddaughters: Phoenix, Britany (great grandkids Thomas and Asher) and AJ (great grandkids Bayleigh, Cayden, Demi and Eli)

We will not be holding a formal remembrance ceremony at this time.  In lieu of flowers or donations, be kind to people and tell someone how much they mean to you.