Ronald L Flaugher

Ron was born in Falmouth, Kentucky on Nov. 20, 1932, the second of three children and the only son of his parents, Hanna and Corlyne Flaugher. At the height of the Depression, the family moved to Cincinnati, where a 5-year-old Ron helped the Church deliver water to the city during the Flood of 1937. Ron would show early talent at drawing and music, and loved his lessons at the Cincinnati Art Museum. Upon graduating from high school, he enrolled at University of Cincinnati and into the Air Force ROTC program. He picked the Air Force because, he said, “the uniforms matched my blue eyes”. “They also recruited me for my good vision and propensity for driving too fast.” He earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees in psychology from the University of Cincinnati, where he met his wife of 67 years, Janice Reece Woodruff. They married in 1960 and both joined the Vanderbilt University PhD program in psychology. There, they had two daughters, Brenna and Jennifer, and Ron obtained his PhD. In 1963 the family moved to Hopewell, New Jersey, when Ron was hired by Educational Testing Service (ETS). There, Ron spent 30 years researching biases in testing to improve access of minority students to higher education.

In 1972 the family bought a small farm in the woods just outside the center of Princeton. They raised goats, chickens, dogs, cats, guinea hens, one pig, and, eventually, grandchildren. Ron learned to use a chainsaw and stack firewood in beautiful traditional sculptures, taking care of the forest that now has welcomed him home. With a close friend he formed “Ron and Harry’s Demolition Landscaping”, took no pay except firewood, and, as promised, left a pile of leaves and limbs. He shared these skills with his daughters, their boyfriends, and the grandsons who carry on the work today.

Ron was a lifelong Unitarian. The family joined the Unitarian Church of Princeton in the mid-1960s and remained active for many years. One of his favorite roles was, with the help of his young daughters and friends, to cut down, transport and erect a massive tree for the Church’s Christmas celebration. Through ETS and the church, he met long-time friends, including some from Italy, France, and Holland, with whom he shared various international travels, and many years of love.

Ron loved to play squash. Teaching statistics courses at the Princeton Theological Seminary, the New School, and Trenton State College gave him access to their courts. Ron retired from ETS, but not from teaching, or squash, in 1993. In retirement Ron and Jan traveled widely, including to France, Holland, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, and especially to Maine. Ron was very proud that, by the end of his life, he had been retired for longer than he was working! His dry sense of humor, sharp wit, beautiful letters, poems, and toasts, inspired and entertained everyone around him, especially his family. With that wonderful smile and a twinkle in his eye, Ron might now remind us of Ogden Nash’s poem The Transition to Senescence: “Senescence begins / And middle-age ends / The day your descendants / Outnumber your friends.”

Ronald died peacefully on Oct. 30th at the age of 93 years and 11 months. He wanted his epitaph to say “I told you I was sick!” He is survived by his devoted wife; his two daughters; grandsons Paul Ronald Ammann and Dustin Ammann; his younger sister Pat Flaugher; and many nieces, nephews, and their children. In memory of Ron, if you wish, please plant a tree or support your local green acres programs.