Rev. Ronald J. Weber

Rev. Ronald Joseph Weber, age 78, died Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025 at OSF St. Katherine Hospital in Dixon, Illinois. He was born March 2, 1947 in Hart, Michigan the son of John J. and Margaret E. (Christian) Weber. He attended grade school in a two-room schoolhouse and graduated from high school in 1964, a year younger than his peers. When he was around 16 years of age, he and his friend Eric Metzler rode their bikes by themselves from Hart, Mi to the Mackinac bridge and back, a trip of about 476 miles round-trip. As a teen, he also took up raising homing pigeons and sending messages with them. Before entering Central Michigan University, he worked for the road commission. He enlisted in the army in 1966 and served in the Vietnam War. He married Sandra Lou “Sandy” Melchert on October 5, 1968 in Free Soil, Michigan. Ron retired as a Master Sergeant for the Army in 1986. He then worked in the civilian sector as a mainframe computer technician for TRW and Storagetek until 2008. On April 19, 1997, Ron became a Permanent Deacon of the Chicago Archdiocese and after the death of his wife Sandy on October 29, 2007, Ron entered the seminary in March of 2008, obtained his Master of Divinity and was ordained a Catholic priest in the Belleville Diocese in May of 2012. He was a priest-in-residence in Belleville, then an Associate Pastor at Saints Peter & Paul in Waterloo, Parish Administrator at Saint Joseph Church and School in Olney, and finally, Pastor of Saint Lawrence in Lawrenceville, before retiring in August of 2019. When he retired in 2019 from the priesthood, he got permission from the Rockford and Belleville dioceses to sub in for local priests in the Rockford Diocese, saying masses wherever he was needed. Ronald was also an Ecclesial priest for the Northern Illinois World Wide Marriage Encounter movement. After retirement he moved to Mt. Morris, Illinois where he could be closer to his family. He was predeceased by his parents, his loving wife Sandra Lou, his grandson Andrew Jonathan “AJ” Ruiz, his siblings John Weber, Margaret Weber, and Rita Weber. He is survived by his daughter Rebecca “Becky” (Mark) Miller of Dixon, IL and son Ronald (Traci) Weber, Jr. of Elk Grove Village, IL; siblings Ramon Weber, Charles Weber, and Christian Weber; grandchildren Alexander (Valery) Breckenfelder, Melody Breckenfelder, Cole Weber, and Audrey Weber, and surviving great granddaughter Adalee Breckenfelder. Funeral Mass will be held 11:00 AM, Friday, December 5, 2025 at St. Mary Catholic Church, 301 N. 4th Street in Oregon, IL with Rev. Bernie Sehr officiating. Visitation will be held Thursday evening from 5-7 PM at Farrell Holland Gale Funeral Home, 110 S. 7th Street, Oregon, IL. with a 7:00 PM rosary by Deacon Ron Abramowicz. Burial will be at Grant Township Cemetery in Free Soil, Michigan. A memorial fund is established in his name for the Diocese of Belleville for the Education of Seminarians. Donations can be sent to Diocese of Belleville, ATTN: Finance Office, 222 S. Third Street, Belleville, IL 62220.

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