Obituary - Ron "Gonzo" Gonzales

Aug. 7, 1951 – Aug. 14, 2015

After spending his 64th birthday with his closest family, and fulfilling his wish to live to 64 years of age and force his family to sing, “When I'm 64,” to him, Ron Gonzales, known to most as Gonzo, died at 2:33 a.m. August 14, after suffering from COPD for decades. He spent his last week pleasantly, able to read for the first time in several years after suffering deteriorating eyesight – he'd received a Kindle for his birthday. His last day was spent with his granddaughter and wife, having fun with those he loved.

Gonzo was born August 7, 1951, in Watsonville, Calif., to Delphia Brewer and Daniel Downs. He had a love of music instilled in him at a young age and played violin, guitar, and bass guitar. He was also a talented tenor vocalist. He left school early after obtaining a GED and entered the Job Corps, moving on to other careers, but music followed him until the day of his death; just hours before he passed, he was playing his guitar – his family found his guitar equipment, still on, the next day.

He served in the U.S. Army for 16 years, first as a military police officer and then as an LPN. Gonzo had a soft spot for his fellow service members; when his children were very young he checked out several young, injured men with no near family from his station at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, inviting them to Thanksgiving with his family. He later worked in home nursing, wishing to dedicate more time to individual patients.

Gonzo was a longtime member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Local 363; his oldest daughters both followed in his footsteps to some degree, and some of his fondest memories were of his time working backstage. Prior to joining IATSE, Gonzo worked in the stage industry through companies such as Bill Graham Presents, and he held two degrees in Audio-Visual Engineering. He met his wife, Karen, while working as a stagehand – as he was so fond of saying, he was a roadie, she was a groupie, and it was a match made in post-production.

He also worked in a number of other fields, from mechanic work to broadcasting and computer science; something of a Renaissance man, he even had a hand in helping construct the Voyager space probes as a contractor. Before the Internet was popular, Gonzo ran a bulletin board system off of his home computer called Gonzo's Place, extraordinarily popular for its time (it ran from 1992-96).

He was an active member of the former Capital City Alano Club, serving on the board of directors and as secretary of several different AA and NA meetings. He often brought members who were lacking in housing home to sleep on his couch, even though it strained an already-stretched budget to have another person in the household. He envisioned a world where everyone, regardless of ability to work, had a safe place to sleep every night and enough food to fill their belly, and he put what money he had where his mouth was.

He loved music, reading and writing, animals of all types (except cats, which enjoyed sleeping on his face), helping people, and telling tales of his exploits as a hippie on the Haight-Ashbury.

He was preceded in death by father Daniel “Odie” Downs and stepfather Lee Evans.

Gonzo is survived by his wife, Karen; mother Del Evans; stepfather Manny Gonzales; daughters Tasha Costa, Ashley Dean, and Nicole Smith; sons-in-law Ken Costa and James Dean; granddaughters Catherine and Adrienne Costa, Aymie Lupton, Jazmin Estes, and Madison Dean; pets Buddy, Ziva, and Abaddon; and a plethora of friends and loved ones through his union and activities within the local AA and NA communities.

A Celebration of Life will be held from 6 – 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10, at the Pioneer Center's Exhibition Hall in Reno. Dress blacks are not required, but are suggested as an homage to his career as a stage technician.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests either a donation of support at crowdrise.com/gonzosmemorialfund or a donation to the local homeless advocacy or drug recovery/needle exchange program of your choice. The family will also be hosting a donation drive in his honor to help provide the homeless with goods for the upcoming winter season; for information on this project, please contact his daughter, Tasha Costa, at tashabot@gmail.com.