It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Ronald “Ron” Lee Cleavenger M.D. on Dec 13, 2022, at Medical University South Carolina, Charleston S.C. Ron was a devoted husband to his wife of 43 years Patricia “Patty Babes” Cleavenger. He is also survived by his son, Brett, daughter-in-law, Rebecca, and his very special granddaughter, Chloe.
Ron practiced medicine for most of his life in the West Virginia University hospital system and lived in Morgantown. More recently, he spent time in Charleston, S.C. to be near his son’s family and was welcomed into Indigo Hall Assisted Living, where he became an integral member of the community. Ron faced and overcame many adversities in his life related to various health conditions, but despite these, he achieved major successes in his professional career and in his family life.
Ron was born April 3, 1945, in Union Protestant Hospital, Clarksburg. He was the third eldest of seven children, all of whom were brought up by their mother. Ron was preceded in death by his parents, Robert Lee Cleavenger and Gladys Florence Green Cleavenger. Ron attended elementary schools in Grafton, Bridgeport and Clarksburg. He graduated from Washington-Irving High School, and then worked multiple jobs over several years to put himself through West Virginia University. He was a very accomplished shuffle-board player, and his winnings helped pay for his tuition costs.
He performed military service in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War in a medical lab. Ron graduated with a Bachelor of Science (cum laude) in chemistry and subsequently went to medical school at WVU, where he graduated in 1978. Thereafter, Ron practiced medicine in the WVU Student Health Service and WVU Family Medicine. Throughout this time, Ron underwent several heart by-pass surgeries which forced him to stop running marathons, which he loved; his favorite being running in the Marine Corp Marathon. Thereafter, Ron successfully took up golf and he and Brett played many prestigious courses together.
Ron was an avid genealogist, and his family tree extends to over 2,600 pages of tightly scripted research of family members. Ron was an ardent supporter of WVU sports and especially basketball, even spending time as a sports physician for WVU during the Don Nehlen and Gail Catlett eras. Ron and his family loved to travel and have very fond memories of time spent in Cape Cod, Mass., Kiawah, S.C. and many of the Caribbean Islands.
It was Ron’s wish that his body be cremated, and a service to celebrate his life will be held near his birthday in April 2023 with plans yet to be announced. As Ron would say, “Once a Mountaineer, always a Mountaineer.” In lieu of flowers, please consider contributing to the Kiawah Conservancy, 80 Kestrel Court, Kiawah Island, SC 29455; to the American Heart Association, 887 Johnnie Dodds Blvd., Mount Pleasant, SC 29464; or The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, https://give.michaeljfox.org/.
