Ronald Joe Fling

Ronald Joe Fling passed away peacefully at the age of 87 on September 10, 2025.

Joe, as he preferred to be called, is survived by his wife of nearly 65 years, Colleen (Woofter) Fling; children Greg (Michele) Fling and Lisa (Tom) Tallant; grandchildren Mathew (Renee) Fling, Lauren (Eddie) Domitrovich, Jacob (Miranda) Fling, and Lucas Tallant; great grandchildren Eva, Amelia, Tucker, and Eddie. He was preceded in death by his parents Fleet and Pearl (Riddle) Fling, and his siblings RetaMae Stalnaker, Jack Fling, and Janell Hanlin.

Joe grew up on a farm in Gilmer County, West Virginia. He played basketball and baseball at Tanner High School where he met his future wife, Colleen. He earned a teaching degree at Glenville State College, married Colleen, and they moved to Denton, Maryland, where he taught science. In the mid-1960s, after relocating to the Akron, Ohio area, he was employed by, and eventually retired from, Goodyear Aerospace as an industrial engineer. Shortly after moving to the area, Joe and his young family moved to Manchester where he lived for 58 years. During that time Joe volunteered as a coach for both Greg and Lisa’s baseball and softball teams. In the1990s, not quite ready to retire, Joe was employed as a bank courier and later as a truck driver for JRayl Transport.

Always a do-it-yourselfer, Joe was often found gardening, landscaping, remodeling the house, or tinkering in his garage (building, repairing, or salvaging something). If any family member needed help with a home project, they knew who to call and he was always willing to help or give advice gained from his experience.

He was a collector who loved searching for yard sale “finds”. He belonged to several clubs in the Portage Lakes area and in Daytona Beach, where Joe and Colleen spent many winters as “snowbirds” enjoying time with extended family. Joe enjoyed traveling, often with family, to national parks, beaches, historic sites, and the glaciers in Alaska. He always enjoyed attending his grandchildren’s sporting events and band concerts. Family was very important to Joe and Colleen, every year hosting a full house for Christmas among other holidays.

Although often a quiet person, he was knowledgeable and willing to converse on a wide range of topics including history, finance, sports, woodworking, and environmental science including botany, geology, astronomy, ecology, entomology and zoology.

His integrity, kind soul, and depth of knowledge will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

Cremation has taken place, and a Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, November 9th, at 1:00 PM at Diamond Match Party Center, 8 Fourth St. NW, in Barberton, Ohio. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Joe’s name to BACM – Barberton Area Community Ministries, 939 Norton Ave. Barberton, Ohio 44203, or online at bacm.org