Ronald "Ron" Edward Vavrina, 95, of Clarkson, Nebraska, died Friday, May 15, 2026, at the Clarkson Community Care Center.

Mass of Christian Burial will be Saturday, May 23 at 10:30 AM, at SS Cyril & Methodius Catholic Church in Clarkson with Fr. Rod Kneifl celebrating the Mass. Interment with military honors will be in the Clarkson Catholic Cemetery. Visitation will be on Friday from 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM and continue on Saturday from 9:30 AM until Mass time, all at the church. There will be a Vigil Service on Friday at 7:00 PM at the church.

Ron was born on August 20, 1930, in Bruno, NE to Edward and Marie (Slama) Vavrina. Due to his father’s passing at the age of 10 years old, he moved with his mother and brother to Clarkson, NE in 1940, moving in with Joe and Libbie Vacin. After graduating from Clarkson High School, Ron took over management of the John Deere dealership in Dodge, NE for 6 years. He moved back to Clarkson in 1954 to assist management of Vacin Implement Co. (aka Vacin Inc,) of which he managed until 2012, a span of 64 years being a John Deere Eq dealer.

Ron married the love of his life, Jeanette Dirkschneider, in 1950, and had 5 children. Besides being an avid fan of Univ. of Nebraska Athletics, Ron enjoyed flying his 182 Cessna logging over 2,000 hrs.

Ron was an extremely “active” man (“grass doesn’t grow on a busy street”!) throughout his lifetime. He was devoted to Clarkson’s overall community development along with many entities throughout the state and nation.

Ron was instrumental in developing and organizing the Clarkson Rescue. He was also a member of the Clarkson Fire Dept for 37 years, 33 as fire chief. Clarkson Fire & Rescue was Ron’s passion, and he was an integral part in making it the professional organization it is today.

His involvement with other local, state, national organizations included:
Chairman, Clarkson Czech Festival 1962-1989
Member Clarkson Beseda Czech Dancers 1963-2001
Past Pres. Of Clarkson Commercial Club
Served on bldg. committee of St John Neumann School, Clarkson City Park & swimming pool and SS Cyril & Methodius rectory
Clarkson City Council
Retired as Major, NE Nat’l Guard 1948-1975
Grand Knight, Third degree Knights of Columbus
Member, Fourth degree Knights of Columbus
Chairman, Parish council, Ss Cyril & Methodius Church
Served as a trustee, lector, EME
Served as one of the organizers and was in charge of fund raising for Club 91 Golf Course
President, Mid-West Retail Farm Eq Dealers Assoc. 1978
Director, North American Eq. Dealers Assoc. 1978-1991
President, North American Equipment Dealers Assoc. 1989
Chairman, Agricultural Council of America 1995-1997
Dealer Council, Gehl Mfg. 1991-1992
Director, Schuyler Memorial Hospital 1976-1982
Award of Merit, Knights of AK-SAR-BEN
Agri-award Triumph of Agriculture
State Director, NE. Chamber of Commerce & Industry 1997-2006
Served on Board of Directors of Federated Insurance Co., 1999-2009

Ron was preceded in death by his father, Edward Vavrina, mother Marie (Slama) Vavrina, daughter, Cindy (Vavrina) Collins & son David Vavrina, and great granddaughter Sophia Mikkelsen.

He is survived by his spouse, Jeanette (Dirkschneider) Vavrina, brother Fr. Kenneth Vavrina, sons: Randall Vavrina (Janice), Gary Vavrina (Barbara), Thom Vavrina (Gabriel), son-in-law Bill Collins (Adelle), 8 grandchildren; Kristi (Vavrina) Mikkelsen (Edward) , Jennifer (Collins) de la Cruz (Mario), Lindsey (Collins) Malloy, Matt Vavrina (Patti), Joe Vavrina (Jessica), and Nick Vavrina, Eric Vavrina (Gaby), and Casey Vavrina (Elena), and 12 great grandchildren; Alicia Vavrina Diaz, Marcos and Lucas Vavrina, Isabella, Teddy, Anna & Katherine Mikkelsen, Brooklyn & Max Malloy, Victoria de la Cruz, Piper and Miles Vavrina.