At the August meeting, we will be taking a few minutes to remember long-time member Ron Leftwich who passed away this summer. Here is an excerpt from his obituary.
Obituary: Ronald Leftwich
Ronald "Ronnie" William Leftwich, age 58, of Culpeper, Virginia, passed away on June 10, 2022, at Reston Hospital after suffering multiple organ failure as a result of septic shock. He was born on October 9, 1963, in Indianapolis, Indiana, to James Reed Leftwich and Mary Louise Wetzel Leftwich.
At the age of 12, Ronnie convinced his parents to buy the local pet shop. With the help of his younger brother, Bob, and his parents, he opened "Pet World". He ran the pet store for about 20 years before morphing into the auction business with his father. He enjoyed performing benefit auctions, affording him an opportunity to travel, meeting many famous people along the way. He was an avid member of the Safari Club for many years. Ron loved fish (tanks) and travelled to Peru 3 times to catch fish in the Amazon.
Ron was senior class president of the CCHS Class of 1982. He knew just about everyone in Culpeper, and always had a smile on his face and a kind word to share. Ron was always open for an adventure and he enjoyed his life.
I fell out of touch with Ron several years ago, but he was an amazing man, and a great friend. I am so sorry to hear this. I remember visiting his house and seeing so many of those awesome aquariums -- I think he was the first guy I knew to have kept rabbit snails.
Great guy. He will be missed.
At one point he had more antique aquariums than anyone in the world and all were in use around his home. Every room had at lease one aquarium though not all were antique. He had a large pond in his basement for freshwater stingrays.
He was a classy and classic auctioneer.