Ronald E Logan Funeral Service

wait for fire honor guard to exit, then announce: Please rise as the Honor Guard presents the flags.

Honor Guard Presentation of the flags

Greeting and Prayer

The family would like to thank everyone joining us today to celebrate the life of Ronald E Logan. May we fondly reflect on a life well spent for the glory of God. Would you pray with me.

Prayer

Obituary

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Ronald (Ron) E. Logan, a beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend, who left us at the age of 76. Born on October 26th, 1947, in Lexington, Kentucky, to Granville B. Logan and Ruth Ross Logan, Ron lived a life marked by service, dedication, and an unwavering commitment to his community, country, friends, and church. Tragically drowning while heading out to fish on his boat in the early evening hours of June 12th, 2024, Ron was a lifelong avid fisherman and died doing what he loved.

For 31 years, Ron served as a lieutenant in the Lexington Fire Department, dedicating himself to protecting and serving his community before retiring in 2002. Known for his lead-by-example approach, he earned the respect and admiration of his colleagues and the community he served. Alongside his firefighting career, Ron also ran a successful flooring business for over 40 years. He never passed up the challenge of building anything and was always ready to help his friends with DIY projects when he wasn't working. His kindness, energy, leadership, and legendary work ethic left an indelible mark on the lives of those he touched.

Before his firefighting career, Ron proudly served his country as a member of the US Army and was a combat veteran of the Vietnam War, having served with the 3rd/187th 101st Airborne Division in 1969. Ron served with distinction in Southeast Asia and was awarded the Bronze Star for his service. Despite his accolades, Ron was humble about his service, always considering those who "never came home" as the true heroes.

In the mid-1980s, Ron was the President of the Lexington Vietnam Veterans Memorial Committee, spearheading the fundraising and completion of the memorial in honor of the city's fallen Vietnam War veterans. Originally dedicated in January 1987 in downtown Lexington's Phoenix Park, with thousands of Vietnam veterans in attendance, Ron's can-do attitude was personified when he personally recruited General William H. Westmoreland, the commander of US forces in Vietnam, to be the keynote speaker at the ceremony.

Ron's commitment to veterans did not end with the memorial. He was a tireless advocate for Vietnam veterans, assisting many in obtaining their military disability benefits. Additionally, as a member of the Honor Guard of the Military Freedom Fest, Ron and his fellow members honored veterans of all wars at funerals, memorials, Honor Flights, and numerous presentations throughout Kentucky. His 55 years of dedication to his country and its veterans was ultimately recognized in September 2023 when he was inducted into the Kentucky Veterans Hall of Fame.

Ron is survived by his loving family, who will forever cherish his memory: his devoted wife, Judy Hay Logan of Lexington; his children, Drew Logan of Manhattan Beach, CA; Amy Logan Williamson of Lexington, KY; Matthew Logan of Elizabethtown, KY; Stephen Logan (wife Michelle Wijas); his grandchildren, Brooke Williamson of Lexington, KY; Ian Logan of Elizabethtown, KY; and Victoria Wijas; his sister, Joanne Lawrence of Lexington, KY; and his nephew, Keith Logan of Lexington, KY. He is preceded in death by his beloved grandson, Jacob Williamson of Stoughton, WI, and his brothers, Robert H. Logan and Billy Wellman.

A true leader in life, Ron's legacy of service and dedication to others will live on in the hearts of all who knew him. His unwavering commitment to his friends and his church community at Durbin Memorial Baptist Church, where he was a deacon and Sunday School teacher, further exemplified his generous spirit and steadfast character.

Family Sharing about Their Father

Russ Message

Opening Scripture:

“Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.” John 11:25

“I want you to know….

Ron Logan is alive today through His personal relationship with Jesus

Ron Logan is alive today with Jesus

Ron Logan is alive today because of Jesus

“When he drew his last breath in the water, he immediately went into the presence of the Lord”

SAY: Today, we grieve!

We grieve his passing.

We grieve his absence.

Yet, we grieve with hope because Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live

Personal Remarks

Thank everyone that has prayed for, encouraged and visited Judy and their 4 children

Bro. Russell Zik (Bro. Russ) Served as Ron’s pastor for 5 1/2 years at Durbin Memorial Baptist Church

It is an honor to be able to remember and celebrate his life and be asked to take part in his service

Hardest funerals to preach because of my love for Ron

Easy funeral: He knew Jesus & lived a full life

To his 4 children: “I loved your dad” “I loved your husband”

Served alongside him in numerous church projects

Discipled and counseled him through a season of struggle & spiritual growth

He FINALLY became a deacon after I left!

Went on mission with him both in Lexington & Brazil

“We became very close!”

Called Ron to stay with He & Judy when I preached Durbin’s Homecoming almost 1 1/2 years ago

Anna was 5:

Putting Anna to bed

Walking up the steps Ron said, “Good night Anna”

Anna said, “Good night”

Ron said, “I Love you”

Anna said, “Love you”

SAY: He had the biggest grin on his face

Ron to me personally was a church member, brother in Christ, personal friend, like a father

“I got to experience what you children did as he saw me and treated me as a son. He would often call me his son and call me Zacchaeus or Zack for short because of my small stature

SAY: Today, I grieve! Ron was a one of a kind! That’s part of what you loved about him and what drove you crazy! In it all, Ron loved & exemplified Jesus

Ron Logan: How do you sum him up in 10 minutes?

2 Commands

Preach Jesus & the Gospel

Do it in 10 minutes

SAY: This afternoon, I want to speak on how Ron exemplified Jesus

Exemplified Jesus

SAY: Show how Ron exemplified Jesus! I don’t expect anything I say will be anything new or surprising

1. Ron exemplified Jesus in how he served

Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

SAY: Ron was willing to do anything for anyone exemplifying how Jesus gave everything when giving His life. Looking back at pictures…I remember

He served food at the Fire Department & Jacob’s Hope Cafeteria i.e. pics (Feeding of 4,000 & 5,000). Jesus cared for the hungry & so did Ron

Like Jesus, he used his carpentry skills serving the church through work projects: sanctuary floor, building entrance, kitchen using his carpentry skills

SAY: Walking through the building earlier this morning, reminiscing and remembering the times he came down to help on numerous projects

He served the church as deacon

He served me when I got a flat tire and fixed our garbage disposal at the house

“Well that was a $90 cloth”

Made my family chocolate chips cookies (Ron’s chocolate chip cookies)

He came to Union City to check out our new home

He put his life on the line by serving as a combat veteran in Vietnam and as Lieutenant on the Lexington Fire Department of which he was well known for

Philippians 2:3 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves…Have this mind (of humility) among yourselves which was yours in Christ Jesus…who emptied Himself by taking the form of a servant.”

SAY: Ron exemplified Jesus living a life of humble, sacrificial service just like his Savior Jesus Christ when Jesus went to the cross showing his servant’s heart and his love

2. Ron exemplified Jesus in how he loved

John 13:1 “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.”

SAY: Ron had a hard shell FOR SURE! Ron was a hard nut to crack! Sometimes his bluntness could be interpreted and read the wrong way. It was hard to get deep with Ron at times!

What I learned:

“Behind that hard shell that was undoubtedly hard to crack, was a gentle man that loved like Jesus

SAY: Though he talked a tough game, he was actually a gentle man that showed in his love for people. He would do anything for anyone

Ron would have done anything for me

Ron would do anything for anyone b/c of his love though he didn’t always say it!

“Now Russ when you came to Durbin, you stepped into a hornets nest” (Difficulty of pastoring a small church as a young preacher)

Ron always had my back

Warn You

Encourage You

Challenge You (doctorate)

“Speak the truth in a way you could take it”

SAY: I always knew He loved me!

Sense of Humor:

Toilet Picture

Nancy Burress & The Door: Only Ron could say that and get by with it

SAY: If you knew Ron Logan for any length of time, He loved with the love of Jesus

He loved his wife Judy for over 50 years of marriage

He loved his 4 children

He loved his grandchildren

He loved his church

He loved his Savior

SAY: Ron knew Jesus as His Savior! He loved Jesus! He would often tell me how unworthy he was. He was right! That’s what makes the gospel so incredible

Jesus lived the perfect life we should’ve lived

Jesus died the sinner’s death we deserved to die

Jesus rose again defeating sin, death, Satan

John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

SAY: Ron exemplified this verse in his love and service

3. Ron exemplified Jesus in his enjoyment of life

John 10:10 “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly”

SAY: Ron enjoyed life! No matter what he was doing, he like myself struggle to sit still. Ron lived the abundant life!

Abundant Life: A life that is rich, full, joyful overflowing with meaningful activities under the personal favor of God and in continual fellowship with his people

Serving the church

Fishing with Ian

Spending time with his wife at home

Making others laugh

SAY: Ron lived life to its fullest though for us today it seems short!

SAY: While we will miss his presence, his humble service and love

SAY: Let’s continue his legacy by exemplifying Ron’s Savior Jesus Christ by serving others, loving others and enjoying life like he did

Let’s pray

Closing Prayer

Song - Then Came the Morning

Brad Message

Thank you to everyone who has shared with us today. It is an honor to be given this opportunity to reflect on the life of Brother Ron. All of us gathered together in this room today had our lives impacted by Brother Ron in a wide variety of ways. Ron was man of many hats, and as I think about it, he was wearing a hat just about every time I saw him outside of Sunday service at the church. But through the recountings of his life we have seen all of the various roles he held. He was a veteran, Bronze Star recipient, Honor Guard member, Hall of Famer, firefighter, lieutenant, tradesman, handyman, mechanic, hot rodder, fisherman, church member, Sunday School teacher, Deacon, Friend, Grandfather, Uncle, Father, and husband.

This is a man who truly did it all, always willing to help, even if he didn’t know what he was doing! I’m not sure if he said this phrase, but he certainly live by it, “Do something! and figure it out later!” Brother Charlie shared with me the time Ron thought Charlie’s nomad needed new door panels. So Ron showed up with all the materials and got to work. Never made a door panel before but that wouldn’t stop him! He cuts the first one, gets it all into the right shape, goes to put it on and it was great! Except for the inch gap because the panel was too short. After a few more iterations, he blessed Charlie with wonderful new door panels for no charge. I’ve read countless stories shared by church members of Ron showing up in time of need. Flat tires, broken doors, blown AC unit, if Ron knew of a problem, he was the first to show up and do something. When Jimmy Lake’s fence blew down, Ron was right there. It turned out the fence couldn’t be repaired so Ron suggested they build a new one. Had Ron ever built a fence before? No! Was that gonna stop him? No! He was gonna do something! He had no idea that would lead to side endeavor in fencing, doing three or four more in the months that followed, with the help of Miss Amy of course. That led Ron helping me with my own fencing project. I will always cherish those weeks in which he was helping me. We talked about life, work, and Scripture.

It should be clear to all of us here today that Ron was a servant at heart. It was an honor to install Ron as a deacon at our church. The word deacon at its core simply means servant. Ron was a servant of others. And Ron served the Lord.

In the remaining time today, I’d like to share with you in a way that allows Ron to serve us all one more time.

If you look in your memorial folder, you’ll find a selection of Scripture that the family has chosen that I’d like to read for us all.

Ephesians 2:8-10 (NLT) 8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Allow me to provide for us two applications of this truth in Scripture, today.

First, this verse was written about Ron Logan. Ron Logan was saved the Grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, through believe Jesus Christ lived and died and rose again to pay the cost of his sins. Ron did many wonderful things, but the salvation he now enjoys was not earned because of those wonderful acts of service. On the contrary, through a conversation with a blond hair blue eyed girl in the midst of a thunderstorm, Ron came to faith. Ron’s life that we celebrate today today is God’s masterpiece. Ron was born again, created anew in Christ Jesus, so that he would go on and accomplish all the good things God planned for him long before Ron was even born.

And hear me rightly here, Ron did amazing things, many many good things. During his ordination service at the church, he shared about how he walked point for his troop when he served. After putting himself in direct danger and making it through what those of us who haven’t served couldn’t even imagine, he said he realized that Lord had something for him to do, he just didn’t know what it was at that time. Some of the things the Lord had for Ron to do were all of the acts of service that we have recounted today. But on top of all of those good deeds, Ron said himself that the purpose the Lord had for bringing him through so many difficult circumstances was to, and I quote, “talk to people and tell them about the Greatest Love of All, the love of God. … [and his word] as long as I have breath, I am serving the Lord.”

The good that we know of through our beloved brother Ron was given by, shaped through, and in response of the love of God. God saved Ron by His grace through faith in Christ Jesus as Lord. We all rejoice at the good works our brother accomplished which God had planned for him to do long ago.

This leads me to the second application of the verses included in your memorial folder. At the divine intersection of God’s Sovereignty and the responsibility of man, you too can be saved by grace through faith. I was speaking with someone this week, we were talking about this very service and they said to me, “You know what brother Ronnie would be excited about? That in this service God would be using him one more time to share the gospel with others.” I know that is true. Brother Ron would want all of us in this room to know that the ultimate purpose of life, beyond the accolades, beyond the good deeds, beyond the fishing poles and hotrods, is glorifying our Creator God by faith in Jesus Christ.

You see Jesus Christ is the very Son of God. Our God stepped out of heaven to live a perfectly righteous life, a life that not even the best of us could live up to. And though Jesus lived that righteous life, He was placed on cross to die. In His death, He was not being punished for any sins of His own, but rather to pay the cost of the sins for all who believe in Him. On the Third day, Jesus arose from the dead. His resurrection assures all who believe in Him of eternal life and resurrection. Jesus Christ truly is Savior and Lord.

My question for us all today is, do you believe that? Do you believe in Christ. If so, then understand that God has prepared many good things to do for your good, the good of others, and glory of God. Ephesians 2:8-10 was written with you in mind. If you have not yet come to understand what Christ did, may today be the day! You can come find me. Find a moment and talk with a pastor or a friend who you know loves the Lord. When you understand Jesus as your savior you will see that meaning of this life is to glorify the Lord and in death you gain the glory of heaven.

You may be thinking, that religion stuff just ain’t for me. Maybe you’ve had a bad experience with the church in the past. Maybe you think you’re too far gone due to the choices and pains you’ve had in this life. If anyone had excuse to be angry at God for the circumstances of their life, it was our be our brother Ron, yet he loved and continues to love the Lord. Whatever your case may be, you need to understand that faith in Christ doesn’t begin by getting your act together or walking in to the right building. It begins with understanding Jesus is worthy of your faith, diving into His Word, and going forward in life in response. In the words of brother Ron, “Do something and figure it out later!” None of us are perfect Christians, but we serve a perfect God! Start there! Start with imperfect faith in a perfect Savior, and we can figure out how to live out the good works He has prepared for us as we go. May today be the day you see your need for Christ as Savior.

Later on in Ephesians we read, “But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Brother Ron would be honored if today, through this service it was the day in which you brought near to God by the blood of Christ. Repent and believe today.

I don’t want to go over on my allotted time this morning, so I’ll conclude with instruction for us all, written by Brother Ron in the margins of his Bible:

“Make your time [about] serving the Lord, not yourself. Share wisely and [tell] others the truth of Christ. The reason we have faith is because [of] what Jesus did on the cross.”

Let’s pray

Prayer

Matthew 6:9–13 KJV 1900

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Song - Go Rest High Upon That Mountain

Thank you once again for being here to honor the memory of our dear brother Ron Logan. May we continue to look fondly upon the memories we made with him and support this family in the days ahead. Our committal service will be directly following at Camp Nelson. The family has also invited all of us here to gather for a reception this afternoon. That will be held at FOP Bluegrass Lodge 4. The address is 1097 Duval Street, here in Lexington. We will begin upon our return from Camp Nelson.

Please stand as the Honor Guard retrieves the flags.

walk to position after flags have exitted

Committal Service

1 Corinthians 15:50–58 ESV

50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

My friends: Whereas death has once more invaded our ranks and removed from the walks of life our beloved Brother Ronald, his soul having departed to dwell in “The undiscovered country from whose Bourne no traveler returns,” it has become our duty to commit his body to the grace: Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, and to commit his soul to our Maker, Father and Redeemer, in the hope and assurance of the coming again of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the body from the grave, and the joyous life reserved for the children of light in the realms of glory.

Let us pray.