09/05/2026
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Some people work at a place. Others, after enough years, even become part of it.
For more than three decades, Ronald “Ronnie” Sears was part of Patrick’s Hardware—the mornings, the conversations across the counter, the familiar customers, and the ordinary days that became memories.
Ronnie was quiet, gentle, patient, and unmistakably himself. Small in stature, he had more patience and sensitivity than most people twice his size. He cared deeply for his family; was especially devoted to his granddaughter and equally as proud to bring his grandson Dillon into the Patrick’s world.
Patrick’s Hardware has been here since 1895, and over the years, people unquestionably leave pieces of themselves behind. Ronnie left plenty. He worked alongside generations of the Patrick family, watched customers grow older and their children become customers, and kept showing up everyday as the world—and the store—changed around him.
That kind of loyalty no longer exists.
Today, Patrick’s Hardware says goodbye to one of its own.
Thank you, Ronnie, for all the early mornings, all the years, all the patience, all the sacrifices and all the moments we didn’t realize we would someday miss.
There will always be a little bit of Ronnie Sears inside these old walls. Without him, Patrick’s Hardware already feels a little different.
Farewell friend. Let them all know how much we miss them. IV
