Obituary of Ronald Dagenais

Longtime WVLG radio personality Ronald “Ron Dennis” Dagenais passed away May 30 in The Villages after a long battle with prostate cancer.

His family invites you to a celebration of life on Friday, June 2 from noon to 2:00pm at Hiers-Baxley Life Celebration Center, 3975 Wedgewood Lane, The Villages, FL.

Ron was born on November 6, 1940 in Claremont, New Hampshire, son of Adelard Dagenais II and Lucille (Gonthier) Dagenais. He was educated in Claremont’s St. Mary’s school system, graduating in 1958, and he received his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science in 1962 from Providence College in Providence, RI. He married Germaine Letourneau in 1963, and went on to have two children, four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

While still in high school, he started as a disc jockey at his hometown radio station, WTSV AM/FM in Claremont, NH in 1956. He continued for 10 years, serving in various capacities including sports play-by-play, and upon graduation from college was promoted to Sales Manager of the radio station. His broadcast career continued at WFST AM/FM in Caribou, Maine and Adams-Russell Cable Television in Central Massachusetts. In late 1970, he joined Schafer Electronics as the Northeast Regional Manager, providing automation systems to the broadcasting industry.

While in Caribou, he was an active Rotarian, serving as the broadcast reporter for the Caribou Maine Rotary Club. He continued as a Rotarian, serving as President-Elect of the Leominster, Massachusetts Rotary Club. He went on to be a Charter Member of Rotary’s Montachusett Area Breakfast Club.

Ronald was founder and President of two corporations, Mark V Productions and Computer Systems & Software Inc., providing broadcast music programming services for radio stations and mail-order broadcast equipment. He was one of the first Apple Computer dealers in the US.

In 2004, Ron retired to The Villages where he made many good friends and enjoyed several clubs and activities. Reviving a passion from his earlier life, he soon became a DJ on WVLG’s Music Through the Night. That quickly progressed to a full-time position with the radio station, which he continued until early 2022. His work at WVLG was both his vocation and his hobby, and a source of joy and pride.

Ron is survived by his wife Germaine, son Richard and his wife Stephanie, daughter Cheryl Ringer and her husband David, grandchildren Alyssa, Nathan, Katelyn and Jake, great-grandchild Harrison, and sister Lorraine Stukas.