Obituary of Ron Pender

Ronald Howard Pender

November 23, 1948 - September 21, 2023

On a beautiful, sunny fall day, Ron died peacefully on his own terms with his loving family by his side.

Ron was born and raised in Grand Prairie, Alberta. After high school Ron moved to Edmonton to attend the Computer Systems Program at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology from 1967 – 1969. There he met his future wife, Judy Boyce. Upon graduation, Ron found employment with the Alberta Motor Association until 1978. During that time he also married the love of his life, Judy, and welcomed their son, Kelly.  Instead of moving to the mountains, Ron made "a wrong turn" and ended up in Lanigan, where he briefly worked for the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan. The family then moved to Saskatoon in 1980, where they welcomed their daughter, Marla, and Ron joined the City of Saskatoon. Next, he joined Key Lake Mining Corporation, which merged into Cameco in 1988, where he stayed until he retired in 2003. Those who worked at Cameco know that no document would ever leave his department without his final approval (aka "Penderized"). In true Ron fashion, retirement involved working as a consultant helping various organizations achieve their goals. 

Outside of work, Ron coached and coordinated soccer in the Wildwood community, cracked jokes, was the life of every party, read (almost) every book available in the library, attempted to golf regularly, played pickleball, edited Marla's many assignments, wintered in Arizona, and traveled the world with friends and family. He was fond of creating epic slideshows so he could share these adventures with anyone who was interested. To know Ron is to know that his family was his top priority, as he attended every game and tournament, was an expert chauffeur, and made sure to come home for family suppers every night.

Ron is survived by his loving wife, Judy (Boyce) Pender; his children, Kelly Pender (Stephanie Kuhn), and Marla Pender (Charles Warman); his sisters, Dianne (Steph Biro) and Elaine and Terry Donovan; his in-laws, Daune Boyce, Wendy Boyce, Val (Pardell) and Steve Shannon and Sharon (Heck/Boyce) Bagwell. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews who he was very found of.

Ron is predeceased by his parents, Howard and Audry (Hannas) Pender; nieces, Kristen Pender and Alysson (Boyce) Schneider; his in-laws, Dave and Gladys (Oehler) Boyce; and brothers-in-law, Barry Pardell and Dave Bagwell.

Per Ron's request, no formal service will be held. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Saskatchewan Alzheimer's Society or a charity of your choice. 

Ron lived life to the fullest and many may remember his favourite saying: It just doesn't get any better than this.