Ron Polito Obituary
Joseph Ronald Polito, better known as Ron, Ronnie and Uncle Ronnie, was 68 years young at the time of his passing on March 14, 2021. He was born and raised in the streets of North Hollywood by Rose Marie Liberto and Joseph Pete Polito. For the past 32 years he was a proud resident of Ojai where he lived with his beloved wife Judi.
Ron was born with the spirit to be a protector, advocate for the less fortunate and lifelong seeker of knowledge. As an elementary school student, he would often get into trouble by standing up to the school bully. As the Nuns sorted out his punishment with his mother in their office, Ron found himself sitting and waiting for his sentence in the Rose Garden of his Catholic school. In the spirit of irony which was Ron, he found peace and resilience in those gardens. He didn’t mind the consequences because he knew he was going the right thing by protecting others.
Ron was a non-conformist, an unconventional yet practical man who lit up any room he entered with his humor, his kindness and love of humanity. His pride and joy in life were his wife Judi, and their children Mikella and Nick. His favorite outfit was a tie dye t-shirt, lululemon shorts, and Solomon running shoes or flip flops which was questionable to say the least, but to him style was all about “creative self-expression and comfort” (cue eye roll from Mikella and Judi). During his later years he fell in love with creating hand crafted wooden bowls in his garage, where you’d find him listening to everything from Pavarotti to Kelly Clarkson to Frank Sinatra to the Styx.
His favorite pastimes included teasing his grandmother Mary Liberto (deceased) about her stock portfolio investments, driving and delivering for his parents’ liquor store where he learned the art of the 6 lane U-turn during rush hour traffic, his dad jokes were awful to others and amazing to himself, he was a wicked skier, and he referred to himself as “The Iron Duke” and “Italian Stallion”.
He was a lover of the road less traveled, marched to the beat of his own drum, and used every minute of every day to grow as an individual, as a husband and as a father. Ron was a renaissance man with eclectic taste, diverse interests, childlike curiosity, and an old soul. He loved a great glass of red wine, dogs, dogs and more dogs, playing and watching golf with his son Nicky, visiting his daughter Mikella wherever she was living, traveling with his wife Judi, studying and practicing Buddhism, tending to his rose garden, and being the 4th judge on American Idol.
Ron fully embodied the phrase, “yes and…” he always encouraged each and every one of us to be the best versions of ourselves which, for him, started with treating yourself with kindness. His passion for social justice and mental health advocacy inspired him to get his degree in clinical psychology in addition to his existing career in real estate development. His hope was to positively impact all those who entered his life no matter the circumstance, and his go to move was giving out his latest and favorite book on mindfulness and spiritualty, which he always kept stashed in his car.
Ron was not afraid of death. He believed through death and loss we truly learn how to love and be kind not only to others but to ourselves. “Life is a team game” he used to say, “we are all walking each other home”. So, in his honor, let us be kind to ourselves, kind to others and live each day with love in our hearts.
In lieu of flowers, his family asks that you make donations to Interface Children & Family Service in Ventura County, because Ron believed in creating access for all to mental health services. At this time there is no scheduled service due to the COVID19 pandemic.