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Ronald Genge
August 4, 1922 - February 13, 2015
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<div itemprop="description">GENGE, Ronald<br />August, 1922 - February, 2015<br /><br /><br />Ron died at the Rockyview Hospital in Calgary at the age of 92. He is survived by his daughter Lois, son Greg of Calgary (grandchildren, Jenessa and Geoffrey) and sons, Colin and Chris (granddaughter Jennifer) of Vancouver, B.C. Ron was born in Omarhu, New Zealand, apprenticed as a cabinet maker at 16, joined the New Zealand army in 1939 and then trained as a pilot in the New Zealand air force. When stationed in Edmonton during WW II, he met his cherished wife, Rose Popilchak. She went to NZ as a war bride in 1946, where they married and raised 3 of their 4 children. <br /><br />Ron became involved in archery in 1936 when he made his first bow and arrows. His focus was experimental work, making equipment and teaching the technical aspects of the sport. After moving to Calgary in 1957, he continued to make and repair archery equipment. He was the coaching co-ordinator for the Federation of Canadian Archers from 1966 to 1979 when he was involved in establishing the Canadian Coaching Certification Program producing 4 levels of coaching manuals. From 1966 to 1980 he conducted over 100 coaching qualification clinics at all levels across Canada and was a guest lecturer for advanced coaching seminars in both Rome and Adelaide, Australia. In 1972, he was the coach for the Canadian Olympic Archery team in Munich, Germany, then an official in charge of scoring at the Montreal Olympics. The 2nd edition of Who&rsquo;s Who in Canadian Sport lists his Queen&rsquo;s Jubilee Award and an Outstanding Achievement award from the Province of Alberta for his service. <br /><br />Along with his passion for archery, Ron conducted woodworking and tooling courses for the House of Tools in Edmonton and in 1981 joined the Alberta Wood Carvers Association where he taught courses and wrote manuals on &ldquo;Understanding Wood&rdquo; and &ldquo;Sharpening Carving Tools&rdquo;. He also turned his hand to the making of wood and ice carving chisels and designing and building specialized woodworking machines. His unique &lsquo;copy sander&rsquo; is now being used by several woodworking manufacturers in Alberta and B.C. These were his hobbies, but his occupation was making custom furniture. In addition, he spent 19 years at N.A.I.T. until 1984. Ron was able to continue working in his beloved basement workshop until his late 80&rsquo;s. Ron's intense drive to succeed at his work and hobbies was tempered in later life when his warmer emotional side took over after Alzheimer&rsquo;s started to take its toll. Through its trials and tribulations, Ron never lost his sense of humor or complained. He taught his children the value of hard work and the importance of a job-well done. He will be missed. <br /><br />If friends so desire, donations may be made to the Alzheimer Society of Canada. Memories and condolences may be shared with the family by visiting leydens.com .<br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /></div>