Philip Ronningen

Philip Alan Ronningen,

67 of Escondido, Califor-

nia and formerly of Car-

pio, North Dakota died at

his home on October 6,

2021. A memorial ser-

vice will be held in the

San Diego area on October

19, 2021. A summer

memorial will occur in

North Dakota. Phil was

born on September 11,

1954 to Jerald and Ruth

Ronningen in Minot,

North Dakota. Very early

in life, probably once he

could eat beet pickles

with free abandon, he

earned the lifelong nick-

name of “Pickles”. When

he recently got an ador-

able puppy, she was lov-

ingly named Pickles.

Phil was a very charm-

ing, curly-haired blonde

youngster who could talk

his way out of being in

trouble by telling hilari-

ous jokes and funny

stories or the go-to

response of “Paul did it!”.

Although his siblings still

like to share the story of

when Phil participated in

show and tell time in

Sunday School by proud-

ly revealing his pair of

new underwear. He en-

joyed nature, science,

fishing, hunting,

card/board games, and

basketball (hoop affixed to

the grain auger) after

helping on the family

farm. This included milk-

ing cows, picking rocks

from fields, driving the

grain truck (feet may or

may not have reached the

gas pedal), or whatever

chores were assigned by

Grandpa Sig and Dad.

Some favorite childhood

activities were going to

Lake Darling to fish from

Grandpa’s homemade bar-

rel pontoon, trekking to

Lake Metigoshe for a

Peterson relative camp

out with the cousins

(where Phil was saved

from a near-drowning), or

taking a trip to the North

Dakota State Fair in Minot

to go on carnival rides,

play games, and eat corn

dogs.

Once graduated from

Carpio High School in

1972, he parted shared lo-

cales with his brother as

he attended North Dakota

State University (NDSU)

and Paul went to ‘that oth-

er place’ called University

of North Dakota in Grand

Forks. Phil completed un-

dergrad studies in the

School of Pharmacy,

NDSU in 1977 and NDSU

Pharmacy Master’s Pro-

gram with Fargo VA Hos-

pital residency in 1979.

When wanderlust struck,

Phil chided his mother

Ruth while visiting home

one weekend, by flipping

a coin laughing and say-

ing “Heads I move to San

Diego or Tails Florida”.

Mom thought having a job

in San Diego prior to mov-

ing might be prudent, but

this just added to Phil’s

teasing her. Off he went

to San Diego where he

worked for approximately

42 years as a Hospital

Pharmacist. He was last

employed as a Hospital

Pharmacist at Scripps

Health in San Diego until

his recent retirement in

June of 2021.

San Diego matched

Phil’s lust for life and he

became a loyal fan to the

SD Chargers, SD Padres,

and SDSU Aztec Basket-

ball. Phil formed many

close friendships, mar-

ried, and became a father.

He and his former wife

Beverly Pierce had 2 chil-

dren whom she and Phil

adored and loved beyond

words. Not only did he

volunteer to help in their

schools, he did projects

with them to enhance

their learning such as the

‘Vocabulary Word of the

Day’ and took them on en-

gaging life experiences

and trips. Whether it was

Hannah’s gymnastics, la-

crosse, cross country, or

track, or Austin’s soccer,

lacrosse, and other activi-

ties; Phil was a proud and

very involved dad who

consistently did every-

thing in his power to en-

sure his kids the best

childhood possible. He

and his children enjoyed

walks on the beach with

Pickles, outings to their

favorite Thai and sushi

restaurants, and daily

phone conversations with

one another. Regular trips

back to North Dakota, typ-

ically over 4th of July,

gave him a chance to

share his native and

beloved North Dakota

with the kids, plus pro-

vide bonding time with

Grandparents, Aunties,

and Uncles. Massive fire-

work shows occurred usu-

ally at Blue Lake with

thrilled California kids

(Austin and Hannah)

shooting off fireworks,

which was not legal in

San Diego. In fact, Phil’s

last trip to North Dakota

was this past July 2021

where many happy, fun,

bonding experiences were

enjoyed with family and

friends. We hold dear

these memories as treas-

ures.

Phil was determined,

inquisitive, bright, an avid

reader, thinker, debater

(could have been a great

attorney), handyman and

putterer, comedian and

humorist, a wonderful

neighbor, friend, brother,

uncle, father — a very

good person. As the say-

ing goes, ‘You never know

what people are going

through and sometimes

the people with the big-

gest smiles are struggling

the most, so be kind.’

This was very true of

Philip’s life. He had a

long struggle with depres-

sion as well as bipolar

disorder. As family and

friends, we grieve our loss

of Phil and all he means

to us. His struggle is over

and we pray for his peace

and that he has received a

big ‘Welcome Home dear

Phil’ reception from

Grandpa Jim and Grand-

ma Ruth.

We will always keep

you close in our heart Phi-

lip, and will never forget

the lessons you taught us

or the laughs we shared

with you.

Survived by his chil-

dren: Austin Ronningen,

Denver, CO and Hannah

Ronningen, Portland, OR;

siblings Susan (Erv) Op-

sal, Alamo, ND, Paul

(Kristi) Ronningen,

Bismarck, ND, and Lori

Ronningen, Lincoln, ND.

and many beloved

nephews, nieces, cousins,

aunts.

Preceded in death by

father Jerald Ronningen

and mother Ruth Ron-

ningen.

In lieu of flowers, if you

wish you may donate to

charity of your choice,

such as the Alzheimer’s

Association or the Ameri-

canAssociation for Sui-

cide Prevention.

Condolences may be

sent to family representa-

tive Lori Ronningen, 2982

Whitlow Street, Lincoln,

ND. 58504