Ronald John Lewis was born on December 6, 1951 in New Haven, Connecticut to his mother, Mildred Lewis, and father, Henry St. John Challenger. He was raised in West Haven, Connecticut by a village of loved ones including his grandmother, Alice Lewis, and numerous uncles, aunts, and beloved cousins. He spent his childhood in West Haven on Beach Street and in the Allingtown section on Norfolk Street perfecting the art of the wheelie.

During his formative years, he attended school in West Haven and graduated from West Haven High School in 1970. After school, he began working in telecommunications at Intertel. During this time, Ron went out with his friend to a party at Quinnipiac University, where he met a dazzling young lady, Christine Callens, who would change the course of his life. Chris and Ronnie married in the midst of a blizzard on December 20th, 1975. During this time of tremendous change, Ronnie shifted his line of work and successfully completed the West Haven Police Academy and became one of the city’s first Black police officers, in 1975. Mere weeks after beginning patrol, in 1976, Ron and Chris welcomed a baby girl, Felicia, to their home on Jaffrey Street. Ron’s life and family continued to expand with the addition of a baby boy, (Ronald) L’Heureux in 1978. Shortly beforehand, he moved his family into a home on his beloved Norfolk St, near his grandma and childhood friends, where they lived until moving to Orange in 1993. Ron transitioned to the Connecticut State Police in 1980, where he proudly served as a trooper and rose to the rank of Sergeant, until his retirement in 1997.

Ron spent his retirement years doing the things that he truly loved: he enrolled in college and gained a degree in computer networking from Gateway Community College, he resumed working on cars (he added a love for Ford Explorers to his already present love of American muscle cars), he became a caregiver to loved ones in need and doted on his grandchildren Sanaa, Stefan (CJ), Kengi, and Aliyinza, as well as his beloved chihuahuas Hanna and Spottie. He will now join his beloved wife Christine C. Lewis who preceded him in death in 2019. He leaves behind a host of loved ones to cherish his memory including brothers Donald Lewis, Henry Lewis, and Carroll Challenger (d.), and sisters Sandra Coleman and Beverly Challenger, along with cherished nieces, nephews, and friends.

Services will take place on Saturday, June 10th at 10am at Curvin K. Council Funeral Home. Masking is welcomed.