Ronald Yanish

Ronald James Yanish 79, of Rochester , MN passed away on May 30 at Seasons Hospice after a short illness. Ron was born in Watkins, MN on July 4, 1942 to Herbert and Evelyn (Hahn) Yanish. He attended school in Annandale , MN and graduated in 1960. After high school, he worked for Richfield Meats, married Sylvia Spain in 1965 and had one daughter (Jill Spain Yanish). They were later divorced. In 1971 he moved to Rochester and started Rochester Meats Inc with Wayne Wesala. He met and married Dianne Trutna in 1973 and they began an adventure of a lifetime. He was an astute business man at heart and continued to pursue his passion in many different areas. After selling his share of Rochester Meats, he owned several Perkins family restaurants in Rochester, Waite Park, St. Cloud, Sauk Rapids, Buffalo, and Winona. After selling his ownership in the restaurants, he decided to get into land development and home building. He was very proud of the subdivisions and homes that he had built. After retirement, he purchased several hundred acres of land and started CedarCrest. It was built to be a retreat for family and friends but also a haven for wildlife. He called this a piece of heaven on earth. Ron was very blessed with good health and wealth, loved his family, his church and had a strong affinity for youth and youth programs. He felt very strongly on sharing his wealth and was instrumental in getting the current Dorothy Day House purchased, building a Youth Center for Pax Christi, the Chapel at Rochester Lourdes High School and the Warming Center for the homeless. He volunteered his time with Young Life of Rochester, was a member of the Knights of Columbus at Pax Christi, was on the Parish council at Pax, a trustee at Pax and had just resigned from the Pax finance committee. As busy as he was, he always had time for family and was especially proud of his grandchildren. He enjoyed going on family vacations, attending Twins games and the grandchildren's activities. He is survived by his wife, Dianne; son Kenneth (Barbara)Yanish of Minneapolis, MN; daughter Jill Spain Yanish of Boston, MA; daughter Saundra Yanish(Dennis Hasse) of Huntsville, AL; daughter Patricia Gustafson of Rochester, MN; and son Joshua (Cassandra) Yanish of Rochester, MN; 15 grandchildren: Ted , Ashley(Jeremy), Kayla, Megan, Shawn (Lauren),Jack, Alex, Joe, Norah, Titus, Royce, Victor, Colette, Lewis, and Levi and 2 Great-grandchildren - Logan & Audrey . He is survived by his brothers Michael (Susan)Yanish of Annandale, MN; Gary (Bonnie) Yanish of Minneapolis, MN; Steve (Laurel ) Yanish of Sauk Rapids, MN; Charles (Linda) Yanish of Kimball, MN and a sister-in-law Lorna Yanish of Sauk Rapids, MN and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother Frank. A Memorial Mass will be held Friday June 10,2022 at 11:00 A.M at Pax Christi Catholic Church 4135 18th Ave NW, the family will greet guests following the service at a luncheon at the church. Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Home is honored to be serving the Yanish family; to share a special memory of condolence please visit www.ranfranzandvinefh.com In lieu of flowers memorials are preferred to Pax Christi Church; Rochester Catholic Schools; Season Hospice House or St Vincent de Paul of Pax Christi. To livestream the service please use the following link provided by Pax Christi Catholic Church: https://youtu.be/cIqLNyPfZGw