Ronald Charles Hallberg, age 85, of Chatham, Illinois, died August 4, 2024, at home.  He was born May 24, 1939, in Valparaiso, Indiana, the son of Charles Peter Hallberg and Jeanette Florence Hallberg Dinsmore.

He was predeceased by his parents and brother, Jim.  Ron is survived by his wife of 56 years, Rhona Clarice Curran, whom he married in 1967 in Sydney, Australia.  The couple met in London earlier when he was stationed there in the U.S. Navy and she was an employee of Qantas Airways.

Also surviving are two children, Sara Byers (Greg) of Mint Hill, NC, and Ethan Hallberg (Megan) of Springfield, IL.   He is also survived by two granddaughters, Olivia and Sydney Hallberg and a step grandson, Jackson Fritz.

Following graduation from Valparaiso High School, Ron graduated from Indiana University in 1962 and joined the U.S. Navy by first attending and graduating from the Navy's Officer Candidate School in Newport, R.I.  This was followed by a three-year tour on the aircraft carrier, U.S.S. Kitty Hawk which was home ported in San Diego.  While on Kitty Hawk, cruises took him to the Far East during the period of the Cold War.  When this tour ended, Ron extended his service for two years; working at the U.S. Navy headquarters in downtown London.

After the service, Ron returned to Indiana University to receive a master's degree in Parks and Recreation – the area which was his career for the next 33 years.  He left Indiana for Beloit, Wisconsin where he was the city's Recreation Director for two years.  His next career move was with the Illinois Department of Conservation (later Natural Resources) where first he was a regional park manager and finally, the manager of the Department's local government grant program, retiring in 2001.

Ron was for many years an active tennis player and got the family into tennis as well.  He also spent many hours gardening and took great pride in their landscaping and vegetable gardens.  Ron loved collecting and had collections of stamps, coins, antique tennis racquets, egg cups, and even old lottery tickets.  He was also an avid reader and would spend his free time with a book in hand.

In retirement, he and his wife traveled extensively and especially enjoyed cruising on both the large ocean-going ships and river boats.  He also was active locally in researching and teaching about genealogy.  He was interested in both his maternal Mayflower family and his father's Swedish and German immigrant parents.

There will be no funeral service.  He will be interred in a family plot at Graceland Cemetery in Valparaiso, Indiana.