Ronald Dean Eberly

Ronald Dean "Butch" Eberly formally of Pine Village, Indiana passed away on July 5th, 2026 in Lafayette, Indiana. He was born in Pine Village on October 31, 1939 and was the son of the late Allen James "Dutch" Eberly & Harriet Irene (Murphy) Eberly - Sneathen. Ron was a 1957 graduate of Pine Village High School, in which he played basketball grades 7 through 12. His early years he worked at any job he could make money at. He set pins for the bowling alley in Oxford, as well as working for Oral Terrell's grocery in Pine Village. In 1951,52 & half of 1953 Ron & his brother Tom assisted their father, the first janitor of the new school building, and during high school years he and Ike Bowman drove tractors and farmed for Jim Eberle, as well as scooped corn on Gene Gephart's corn sheller.

Following high school Ron lived with his sister and brother in law in Gary, Indiana and worked as a "Punk" (An Apprentice) Ironworker out of the Hammond, Indiana local. He was employed by Arthur G. McKee Construction Company within Inland Steel in East Chicago, Indiana. In 1958 Ron married Beverly Jo Green in Attica and set up house keeping in Gary until late 1958 when the steel industry had major strike layoffs. They relocated to Attica and he was employed at Harrison Steel Castings Company in the sheet metal shop. In 1959 a daughter, Michelle Ann Eberly was born in Lafayette, Indiana.

They divorced in 1960 and Bev and Michelle moved to Morristown, NJ. Ron enlisted in the U.S. Navy in August 1961 and completed "boot" camp at Great Lakes, Illinois. 1961-62 he attended Communications Technician (CT) School at Bainbridge, Maryland; 1962-63 NAVCOMMSTA (District Intelligence Office) DIO at Kodiak, Alaska; 1963-65 NAVCOMMSTA San Diego; 1965 Cryptanalysis School (P&R) Pensacola, Florida; 1966-67 NAVCOMMSTA (Naval Security Group Department) San Miguel, Philippines; 1967-71 NAVSECRUACT (duty with National Security Agency (NSA) Ft. George G. Meade, Maryland; 1971-73 BUPERS (Cryptologic Technician Assignment Section); 1973-74 NAVFAC American Embassy, Nicosia, Cyprus; 1974-76 NAVSECGRUACT, Terceira Island, Azores; 1976-78 NAVSECGRUACT Northwest, Chesapeake, Virginia; 1978-81 Staff, Commander, Naval Security Group Command, Washington, D.C. retiring 31 May 1981.

In 1963 Ron married Marie Arnold in San Diego, California and during his Naval career they had Belynda, Ronald Jr., April and Michael.

On 19 June 1974, Ron and his family were the last naval enlisted to depart the island of Cyprus before a Cypriot Coup & the killing of America's ambassador. This was followed by the invasion of Turkey who overran and divided the island in July 1974. Ron and family relocated to Azores, Portugal from 1974 to 1976. Following that assignment they relocated to Naval Security Group Activity, Northwest, in Chesapeake, Virginia. In 1978 Ron was promoted to Master Chief Petty Officer (E-9) and two months later selected for a temporary promotion to Chief Warrant Officer, W-2.

He reverted from CW02 back to E-9 upon his retirement in May 1981.

Immediately following his Naval Retirement in Washington, D.C, Ron was hired by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Mclean, Virginia as the Contractor, Special Security Officer. During his 20 years with SAIC Ron's responsibilities expanded from Special Security officer at the Mclean facility to Assistant Vice President, Security Manager Special Programs, East Coast Operations.

Serving in partnership with his government counterparts, he was the principal industrial security participant and a key team player in a CIA Office of Security Project to Streamline Industrial Contractor security clearances. In 1994 CIA Director of Security Bob Iwai made Ron the first Contractor Security Officer to be presented the Office of Security Spinner Award.

Following his 2nd retirement in July 1999, Ron lived in the Shenandoah Mountains in Front Royal, Virginia where he became the family historian and researched, wrote and published the Eberly family history. He moved to Ocala, Florida in 2005 but Ron wanted to be back in Indiana where he could continue his genealogy efforts and in late January 2010 he moved back to Lafayette.

Ron was preceded in death by a sister, Anita Joan (Eberly) Rolan of Wetumpka, AL. and brother Thomas Allen Eberly of Pine Village, IN.

Survivors are wife Carol Eberly of Farmville, Virginia. daughters Belynda (Mike) Meehan, Virginia Beach, VA, & April (Randy) Elliott, Severn, Maryland; sons, Ronald Allen (Kelly) Eberly, Temecula, CA & Michael Eberly of Lafayette, IN. Grandchildren, Kelly (Mike) Meehan, Richmond, VA; Katie Meehan of Richmond; Virginia and Miranda Meehan of Alexandria, VA; Raymond Turner-Colescott of Winston-Salem, NC, Jack Colescott of Winston-Salem, NC; Kylie Eberly, & Mackenzie Eberly of Temecula, CA

A private graveside service with full military honors has been held at Pine Village Cemetery.