Ronald Ernest Qualley, age 77, of Ray, ND, passed away peacefully at Trinity Hospital in Minot on Sunday, July 20, 2025. His loving wife, Katie, and his four daughters were by his side when he passed. He was an affectionate, dedicated and incredibly hard-working father, son, brother, uncle, grandfather, and husband, who was called to Heaven too soon.

Ron was born in Williston, North Dakota on March 14, 1948 to Ernest and Marie (Binde) Qualley. Ron was raised on the Qualley farm in rural Ray as the second oldest of five kids. Ron went to school in a one-room country schoolhouse in the Rainbow Valley north of Ray through 8th grade (when, he bragged that he was Valedictorian of his 8th grade class (of 2 students) with a C average), proceeded on to school in town, and graduated from Ray High School in 1966. After high school, Ron went to college for about a year and a half, moving to Williston, ND, and continued to live there working trucking jobs until 1972, all while still coming home on the weekends to help his dad on the farm. The big bonus of coming home on the weekends was that he was able to see Katie and take her out on dates, which he looked forward to so much.

Ron and Katie met at a dance in the summer of 1970 in Wildrose, ND. Katie recalls, “When we locked eyes, that’s all it took. We danced and fell in love.” Ron and Katie were married on March 9, 1973 in Billings, MT. Ron had to work on the night of their wedding driving truck, so Katie hopped in the truck with him and they had their honeymoon on the road. Katie wouldn’t have had it any other way. They were too in love to care how they spent their time together.

Ron and Katie lived in Billings, where they raised their four daughters, Deanna, Cheryl, Erika and Laura. When people would ask him about having all girls, he would respond that he loved it because he “got all the attention!” While it is impossible to pick a quick memory for any of the daughters, they will try:

• Deanna “banana” watched the Alien trilogy with dad, he would take her to the hardware store, and later she taught him how to play chess, but he eventually dominated and beat her at it every time.
• Cheryl “barrell” remembers roughhousing with Dad too many times to count, and her 13th birthday when he took her on a daddy-daughter date out to dinner and a movie.
• Erika “America born in America” remembers sitting up late at night eating cereal after dad came home from a few days away at work, and later as a young adult, hiking on the Western slope of Colorado with him.
• Laura “pequora from the city of Medora” loved getting backrubs while watching “Zoro”, “Walker Texas Ranger” and UFO documentaries.

Ron was a truck driver for 35 years, with an impressive four million safe driving miles (that is an equivalent of driving around the world 160 times). Ron drove over 25 years for Consolidated Freight Ways and Roadway Express until his retirement in 2007. He liked being on the road. He listened to books-on-tape, ate peanut-butter-and-honey sandwiches and raw vegetables Katie packed for him, and just enjoyed the solitude and independence of being an over-the- road trucker.

Once they retired, Ron and Katie loved to travel. They were snowbirds; traveling to Texas and Arizona during the winter months. They learned how to square dance and they even graduated square dancing class. Ron was so excited to call his daughters with the revelation that he no longer had two left feet! Sometimes, they would spend weeks driving the coastlines for a change of scenery. While traveling to those warmer states, they met an incredible number of wonderful friends that they treasure to this day. While spending summers at the farm, Ron and Katie enjoyed playing cribbage, going to concerts, fairs, the Norsk Hostfest, eating lefse and lutefisk, and spending time with their loved ones in the area.

Ron treasured his five grandchildren: Gabrielle (20), Carter (19), Jonah (16), Hazel (15), and Everett (11). He loved sharing root beer floats, taking them to Costco to share pizza and ice cream after shopping, and most of all, giving them “whisker rubs.” When his grandkids would come to the farm, he would be overjoyed to teach them how to drive, mow the lawn, driving the tractors and 4-wheelers, and the overall ropes of farm life. If he was still here with us, all they would say is “thank you for everything.” The grandkids had the best grandfather they could have asked for, and he will leave a lasting imprint on their lives forever.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Ernest and Marie (Binde) Qualley, his brother Darrell, and his brother Lyle (Patti).

Ron will be dearly missed by his wife Kathleen “Katie” (Weyrauch); his daughters Deanna Bergum (Derek) of Billings, MT; Cheryl Swanson (Kyle) of Longmont, CO; Erika Schall (Jeramie) of Dacono, CO; and Laura Sanderson (Peter) of Billings, MT; as well as his two sisters Sandra Hall (Len) of Whitefish, MT and Sharlene Jonson (Eric) of Snohomish, WA; along with his before-mentioned grandchildren, many nieces, nephews, cousins and countless of incredible friends, new and old.

Ron was the most patient and understanding man. His wife, daughters, grandchildren, and friends all felt his warmth and love, which never ceased. Watching Ron and Katie’s life together (52 years of marriage) was an inspiration to everyone who had the honor to be a part of their lives. Their daughters were shown what a healthy, happy, and loving marriage looked like. Ron felt blessed every single day to have a big family and lots of friends. While his family and friends will miss him terribly, we know we will see him again one day. And, when we do, we will be met with a strong handshake or a great big bear hug, and we will just keep enjoying our time with him as if it had never ended in the first place.

Memorial Contribution