Matt Roloff has revealed his father Ron, a grandfather to ten grandkids and ten great-grandchildren, died on July 31st at the age of 84. Known as “Papa”, the retired Marine Corps helicopter mechanic had a “life well-lived”.
“A sad week for the Roloff family”: Those are the words of Matt, who took to Instagram on August 1st to share his father’s passing. Born on 1938, Ron didn’t appear often on Little People Big World but had a huge impact on the family.
Matt and other family members are now paying tribute after Ron’s death, including Tori Roloff, Zach’s wife. Fans are deeply saddened to hear of the Roloff family’s loss, and have sent their condolences to the TLC family.
Ron Roloff dies aged 84
Roloff’s grandfather Ronald James Roloff, a retired helicopter mechanic, died on Sunday, July 31st at the age of 84. He died with his family by his side, including wife Huny who he had been married to for 63 years.
From 1957 to 1961, Ron worked for the Marine Corps, where he has a pride of honour on the wall. His grandson Jacob shared a post of the framed picture of Mr. Roloff on his Instagram story after he died.
Some of his last words to Matt included how proud he was of his son, according to the Roloff father’s Instagram post. In July 2021, the TLC star revealed his father’s battle with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia on social media.
“Dad needs serious chemo treatment for CLL blood cancer,” he captioned an Instagram post. Later that month, Matt revealed his father’s “first treatment went very well” in another post.
Matt pays tribute to his father
Matt took to Instagram several hours after his father passed away to share the news. He wrote that his grandkids had “raced to his bedside” to hold his hands with “mom and I” during his final moments.
He tagged Jacob, Zach, Jeremy and Molly in the post, which has received 43K likes of support at the time of writing. Matt paid tribute to his dad and wrote:
A sad week for the Roloff Family.. My dad… Affectionately known as “papa” to his 10 grandchildren and his 10 great grandkids peacefully went home to be with his Lord and Saviour yesterday evening. Ron was an amazing Husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather and inspiration to many. He literally loved people and anyone who ever came in contact with him knows that!
Matt added that his father’s “love for Jesus was so evident throughout his entire life and certainly in his final hours”, while many of the Roloff family members read his favorite bible verses to him before he died.
The Roloff family remembers Ron
Tori Roloff has shared several posts on her Instagram story remembering Ron. She shared pictures of both Ron and his wife Huny with her and Zach’s son Jackson and wrote:
If I was ever more confident that someone made it to heaven it was Papa. I know he met Jesus yesterday. It’s so hard for us here to say goodbye and we’d appreciate all the prayers especially for honey! But man I know he made it home and left behind a legacy. The legend: Papa.
Ron’s grandson Jacob shared a heart to his story while sharing his father’s tribute post. He also posted photos of his “Papa” from when he was a young boy. Zach, Jeremy and Molly have not yet shared any public tributes online.
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