Ronald was born Dec. 22, 1931, on the prairies of Wagner, SD to Lewis and Mariellen (Bailey) Hennies. Ronald was preceded in death by his brothers, Frank and Thomas; sister-in-law, Ann, and his loving wife, Leona (Fletcher). He has left behind his daughters, Elizabeth Hennies-Sund (Greg) and Barbara (Joel) Kress; his brother, Donald; sister-in-law, Jean; as well as one great-grandchild, four grandchildren, and many nephews, nieces, and cousins.

Ronald served his country in the US Army, graduated from Black Hills State University, earned a M. Div. from Harvard Divinity School and a Ph. D from Notre Dame. Through his career he served many Episcopal parishes, starting in Ft. Pierre, SD, as well as I Kearney and Holdridge, Nebraska, Buffalo, WY, Lead, SD, Bloomington, MN, and Rapid City, SD. After "retiring", Ronald (known as Fr. John) served as priest for the Orthodox Church in Los Alamos, NM.

The funeral service will be held at 11:00AM MDT on July 18, 2025, at Chirst Episcopal Church, Lead, SD. His internment will take place at 2:30PM following the service at Black Hills National Cemetery.

The family thanks Neveah Hospice for providing compassionate care for Ronald.