Cottone, Ronald Anthony (b. March 4, 1949) of Richfield, MN, died on November 25, 2022, at Hennepin County Medical Center. His three siblings, Gary, Karen, and Debra, were with him on Zoom, and his friends Dana Anderson and Rita Brock were with him in person. A graduate of Baylor University (B.A. and M.A.) and Princeton Theological Seminary (M.Div), he was a member of Judson Memorial Baptist Church. He worked as a data technology specialist, educator, minister, counselor, consultant, small business owner, and nonprofit leader. Among institutions he served were Abbott Hospital; Control Data; the University of MN Medical School Program in Human Sexuality; Metropolitan Community College; Spirit of the Lakes United Church of Christ (UCC); Mayflower UCC; the MN Conference of the UCC; the Minnesota Zen Center; and Disability Awareness Ministries. He was a member of the board of Breaking Free; the MN Food Association; the MN Facilitator's Network; the Resource Center for Churches; and the Federal Baseball League of MN. As a business owner, he was the principal for Minding Your Own Business and Applied Insights Consulting and also had a handyman business. He volunteered with Christians for Biblical Equality International and founded and facilitated a monthly meeting of the Interim Ministry Network in the Twin Cities. Ron's greatest lifelong love was baseball. He joined a 35-and-over men's baseball league in 1984, playing for the Bloomington Eagles and the North Minneapolis Millers. He was a founder of adult baseball in Minnesota, starting the Federal League in 1986 and organizing the Richfield Rockets in 1989. He played catcher and pitcher and managed the Rockets until his death. He loved coaching, enjoyed teaching neophytes how to score a game, and was inducted into the Federal League Hall of Fame in 2008. He was also score-keeper for Richfield High School football. Other loves included classical music and opera, model railroading, and shade tree mechanics. Beloved by all who knew him, Ron was deeply spiritually grounded, and unfailingly committed to compassionate, non-judgmental inclusion of all persons in the church and society. He lived faithful to his values, priorities, and commitments, at his own pace, thoughtfully and reflectively, and with meticulous, detailed attention in all he did. He had a gentle, inviting friendliness, a cheerful, self-deprecating sense of humor, and a healthy stubborn streak when he knew the right thing to do. A Celebration of Life Service will be at Judson Memorial Baptist Church, 4101 Harriet Ave. Minneapolis, 1 pm, Jan. 14, 2023.

Published on December 4, 2022