Ronald Henry Currin was born in Heppner, Oregon, on Aug. 21, 1960, to Ronald Currin and Judy Lazinka Currin. Affectionately, he was known to family and friends as Ronnie or RC. He was raised on the family cattle ranch on Buttercreek with his brothers, Tony, Mike and Steve; and sister, Jennifer.
Ron graduated from Heppner High School in 1978, then attended Blue Mountain Community College and Montana State University, on rodeo scholarships, where he was a three-time College National Finals Rodeo qualifier. At Montana State, he discovered his love of the cattle industry. After returning home from Montana State University, Ron pursued the family's passion of rodeo. He traveled for several years, over thousands of miles, with his brothers and friends making a lifetime of memories and friendships. He was an accomplished all-around cowboy, competitive in both calf roping and steer wrestling. Capturing the prestigious Pendleton Round-Up All-Around Champion in 1993 and the Steer Wrestling in 1995 were the major highlights of Ron's rodeo career.
After Ron's rodeo career, he switched gears and began pursuing his passion of trading cattle. He started in the business at the bottom and worked his way up to become a first-class cattle trader. Ellington Peek and Western Video Markets were instrumental in starting his career and allowed him to broaden his cattle trading network. In 2005, he found his ultimate position as director of procurement with John Wilson and Beef Northwest. He loved what he did and valued the people he worked with in the cattle industry.
Ron married Rayanne Engel in 2005 and they divided their residency between Clements, California, and Pendleton, Oregon. In 2007, they welcomed twins, son, Riley, and daughter, Rayna, which have been their pride and joy.
On Dec. 3, 2021, after a lengthy battle with metastatic bladder cancer, Ron passed away at his Clements home with his wife by his side.He was preceded in death by his brother, Mike Currin in 1990. Ron is survived by wife, Rayanne; son, Riley; and daughter, Rayna. In addition, father, Ron Sr.; mother, Judy; brother, Tony (wife Kelli); brother, Steve (wife Lisanne); sister, Jennifer Gutridge (husband Shane); sister-in-law, Judy Pederson (husband Curtis); and nine nieces and nephews.
