Ron Walters, longtime radio ‘voice of Petaluma,’ dies at 84

Ronald Robb Walters, known as the “voice of Petaluma” for three decades as the genial host of a local radio station’s morning show, died of complications from heart disease Sunday at his Petaluma home. He was 84.

Walters, who went by the nickname “Ron,” played music, dispensed folksy humor, reported on local sports and sang “Happy Birthday” over the airwaves to listeners as the morning man on KTOB, Petaluma’s AM station, from 1963 to 1996.

An actor and bass-baritone singer, Walters performed for 45 years with a Petaluma choral group the Harmoneers and Harmonettes, sang with local jazz bands and performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

He starred in local productions of Broadway musicals, including the role of Professor Harold Hill in “The Music Man,” said to be fitting for a former Iowa farm boy whose family moved to Point Arena in 1936 and then the Healdsburg area.

A tireless booster of Petaluma sports organizations, Walters also coached the Boys Club basketball team, announced Petaluma High School games and drove the Trojans’ team bus to football and basketball games.

Former Rep. Lynn Woolsey of Petaluma, in a 2001 congressional resolution, described Walters as “a man who attracts people through his gift of music and humor and has used his special voice to make Petaluma a better place to live.”

Juli Walters of Petaluma, one of his three daughters, said her father’s life revolved around music and sports.

As a child in an Alexander Valley home without television or radio, he and his siblings sang five-part harmony, she said.

“Our house (in Petaluma) was always filled with music,” Juli Walters said. “He sang constantly.”

A star athlete at Healdsburg High School and Santa Rosa Junior College, he earned a full scholarship to Gonzaga University.

Walters, at 6 feet 7 inches and 215 pounds, excelled in track and basketball.

He was named to the athletic hall of fame at Healdsburg High and SRJC.

His dedication to the Petaluma community, including “Good Egg” honors at the city’s Butter & Egg Days celebration, paid dividends to Walters.

“I met a plethora of people, the real Petalumans, the salt of the Earth,” he said in a 2010 interview with the Argus-Courier newspaper. “They welcomed me and made life easy.”

Don Bennett of Petaluma, a former city and county planning commissioner, said Walters was beloved by “old-time Petalumans” who appreciated his civic efforts.

“His commitment to this town was absolutely remarkable,” Bennett said.

Laila Schoenlein, former director of the Harmoneers group, said Walters was “a pretty special person. He’s larger than life.”

An advocate for preservation of Petaluma’s historic architecture, Walters and his wife, Judy, lived since 1970 in a two-story Queen Anne-style home built in 1890 for a local banker.

Walters always signed off the air on KTOB with the line, “This is Ron Walters saying thanks a heap and don’t forget what I told you yesterday.”

On the House floor, Woolsey recalled that comment and added: “Mr. Speaker, I would like to say to Ron on behalf of all the people his life has touched: ‘Thanks a heap, and no, we won’t forget.’”

In addition to his wife and daughter, survivors include two more daughters, Erin Walters of Petaluma and Leigh Walters-Manning of Seattle; two sisters, Dorothy Wilcox of Petaluma and Janice Boyce of Berkeley; four grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Burial at Cypress Hill Memorial Park in Petaluma will be private, with a community celebration at a future date.

You can reach Staff Writer Guy Kovner at 707-521-5457 or guy.kovner@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @guykovner.