Ronald Bryce Wilkins

Lt. Col. Ronald Bryce Wilkins died January 15, 2018 at his home in Bellvue, CO.  He was born April 11, 1951 in Goodland, KS, to Bryce and Maxine Wilkins.  The family moved from Kansas to Colorado for several years then to Mitchell, NE, where Ron grew up and graduated from Mitchell High School in 1969.  He worked for the family owned newspaper, The Index, with his parents and became publisher of the Julesburg Advocate and Haxtun Herald in Colorado in 1972 after attending Western Nebraska Community College in Scottsbluff, NE. He married Belinda Yakel in Dec 1969.  They had three daughters; Brandy, Christina, and Veronica.  They later divorced and after selling the newspapers, he returned to Scottsbluff where he attended the University of Nebraska receiving a B.S. degree in nursing.  He met Rena "Raye”, also a nursing graduate, and they were married May 10, 1991.  They then both enlisted in the U.S. Air Force as officers and trained at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, TX.  He continued his career in the military until he retired as Lt. Col. in 2013.  He and Rena then moved to the Loveland area on a small ranch in Buckhorn Canyon. He was preceded in death by his grandparents and his father, Bryce Wilkins. He is survived by his wife Rena, daughters Brandy, Christina, Veronica, step-daughters Gwyn and Christy, and 14 grandchildren.     A memorial service with military honors will be held on Saturday, January 20 at God’s Country Cowboy Church at 5505 West Hwy 34, Loveland, CO.  In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his memory to Shriners Hospital (shrinershospitalsforchildren.org).