That lead to a new job opportunity, for Milwaukee-based DCI Marketing, where he started as an executive salesman and eventually became President and CEO. The job took him to Michigan where he worked in their Travel and Incentive Division. Ron started his business career in Cincinnati working for The Sperry and Hutchinson Company in a newly created MBA training program. Ron’s response to his father was… “Dad, I was here first.” When his father wrote to Ron saying come home, two of you don’t have to be there…. His younger brother, Armand, was also there serving in the Marines. Ron honorably served in the U.S Army in Vietnam in 1968-1969 where he was awarded the Bronze Star. His quarterbacking skills at Prep led to a full scholarship to Xavier University in Cincinnati, where he also received his MBA. Ron was the consummate leader and athlete, lettering in football, basketball and baseball and serving as Student Council President to over 1,200 young men at Cathedral Prep in Erie, PA. Ron was an incredible husband, a loving father, and a humble and giving man who was a mentor to many. "We certainly feel very fortunate we are able to provide resources to areas that are so much in need, especially in the economic situation that we are in," Schulz said.Of Mequon - Age 78, passed away at home peacefully on July 22, 2022, after a 5+ year battle with ALS, which he handled with Faith, courage, and grace. Schulz foresees possibly expanding the number of organizations and causes, while maintaining their parents’ intent. For now, that means maintaining support to the more than dozen and a half organizations their parents helped annually. "You are trying to feel it out and figure out what’s the best way to do it," she said. Schulz describes their new role as similar to taking a new job. After Mary Anne passed away in 2008, Schulz and her sister, Trish Hilbert, became successor advisers. When Kirby passed away in 2002, Schulz helped her mother with the grantmaking. That interest lives on through their fund, which supports Catholic and central city schools like Nativity Jesuit Middle School, among other organizations. Mary Anne, a former teacher, and Kirby made sure their children had a Catholic education. One of those shared passions was education. They felt blessed and wanted to do something to provide ongoing support to their favorite organizations and causes. The couple created the Lawlis Family Fund in 1994 with money Kirby received from selling the Miller Brands distributorship he led for 11 years. Both were active at Mequon’s Lumen Christi Catholic Church. Mary Anne was a Girl Scout leader and regular fixture at her children’s sporting events. Kirby was a longtime member of the Knights of Columbus, a grade school basketball coach and one of the founders of Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful. Helping others was second nature to the couple, who met on a blind date in 1953 and married two years later. "They led by example," said Joanne Schulz, the eldest of the couple’s five children. The two have since passed away, but through their donor advised fund and the guidance of their children as successor advisers, the couple is leaving a legacy that keeps those values alive. Couple’s generosity and values live on through charitable fundįaith, family and helping the less fortunate were fundamental values that shaped the lives of Kirby and Mary Anne Lawlis throughout their nearly 50 years of marriage.
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