Ronald J. Bird

Ronald James Bird was born on July 14, 1943 to Jim and Arlene (Sifford) Bird in Madelia, Minnesota, where he was raised. He attended school and competed in sports, running track, wrestling and playing football, while also participating in FFA. Ronnie graduated from Madelia High School in 1961. He then attended the University of Minnesota for one year, before accepting a job with the United States Department of Agriculture as a meat inspector. On November 12, 1966, Ronnie married Sandra Deckert in Bismark, North Dakota. The couple lived and raised their family in various towns in Minnesota, including Worthington and Reading, before settling on an acreage near Kenneth. In addition to his government job, Ronnie remained connected to his passion of training and racing thoroughbred horses. In the several decades on the track he would meet and shoe horses for a number of future hall of fame trainers, mount young jockeys on his horses that would one day ride in the Kentucky Derby and other big races, and had a chance meeting with the Queen of England who came to his barn one morning to view a horse he was training. In those years he would rely on the help of wife and kids as they travelled throughout the Midwest and 3 provinces in Canada. He particularly took to training horses that many others would give up on. In one such case Ronnie took a horse that had been given to his brother and turned it in to a winner. Ronnie trained it, Mike owned it, and was ridden to victory by brother Larry. The sports headlines the next day read “Birds Chirping Over Gift Horse Win”. When he no longer was able to train horses, Ronnie transitioned to raising and selling Red Angus cattle and was a member of the Red Angus Breeder’s Association. He formally retired in 2023. On Wednesday, July 17, 2024, Ronnie died peacefully in his sleep at his home at the age of 81 years and three days.

Ronnie appreciated living a simple life. He was strong-willed and passionate about what he believed. He enjoyed reading history related books, going to Kenneth for a cup of coffee and a game of Quidler, and watching westerns on television. He enjoyed raising his kids and was an assistant wrestling coach for Luverne High School from 1992-1994. He had a quiet faith and loved his grandkids, which he often welcomed with a “well hello, junior”. For others, he had many other “famous sayings” to share his thoughts. “You round head” was heard by many!

Ronnie is survived by his wife, Sandi; three children, Lisa (Mike) Albers of Bakersville, North Carolina, Jason Bird (fiancé, Jill Phillips) of Kingsley, Iowa, and Travis (Denise) Bird of Las Vegas, Nevada; seven grandkids, Rustyn (Katy) Crosby, Cheyenne Albers (friend, Bryce Ham), Laramie (Whitney) Albers, Cody (Lena) Albers, J.J. Bird, Alex Bird and Gabe Bird; five great-grandkids, Uriah Kuckken, Qrow Ham, Valkryie Ham, Jameson Albers, and Charlotte Albers; four siblings, Kathy Mullen of Mankato, Minnesota, Larry (Sandra) Bird of Winnipeg, Canada, Mike (Penny) Bird of Batavia, Illinois, and Jean (Mike) Oldenburg of Madelia; and other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his great-granddaughter, Charlotte Albers; parents; and brother-in-law, Tim Mullen.