Ronald Herbert Bromert

Ronald Herbert Bromert was born on January 5, 1941, in Carroll, Iowa, to Herbert Bromert and Irma (Carstens) Bromert and passed away at Bishop Drumm Retirement Center, on February 21, 2024, at the age of 83. His family lived in Carroll until 1947, when they moved to Hutchinson, Kansas, for a year. They then settled in Manning, Iowa, where Ron attended school. In high school he participated in band, playing the trumpet, and vocal music, where he was chosen for the All-State Choir. He also participated in football and basketball.

He graduated from Manning High School in 1959 and from Buena Vista College in Storm Lake, Iowa, in 1963, with a degree in Music Education. He taught elementary vocal music and band in Griswold, Iowa, for three years, where he met his future wife, Kay Roberts. They were married on June 1, 1966, and moved to Greenfield, Iowa, where Ron taught elementary vocal music for three years. During the summers, Ron and Kay attended Central Missouri State College, Warrensburg, Missouri, to work on master's degrees. Ron graduated from there in 1969 with a Masters in School Administration.

They moved to Cumberland, Iowa, for one year, where Ron worked as the Elementary principal in the Cumberland-Massena school district. The following year, they moved to Anita, Iowa, where Ron worked as the Elementary Principal for six years. In 1973, their son Michael William was born. In Anita, Ron was active in the Lions Club, and he and Kay enjoyed square dancing and Ron discovered barbershop music, becoming a charter member of the Atlantic, Iowa chapter of SPEBSQSA (Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America).

In 1976, they moved to Madrid, Iowa, where Ron became the Elementary-Junior High principal. Six weeks after the move to Madrid, Their son Steven Joseph was born. In 1984, Ron accepted the position of Elementary principal at Sacred Heart School in West Des Moines, Iowa, and the family moved to West Des Moines.

In 1986, their lives went in a different direction when they answered an ad in the Des Moines Register for a teaching principal, a wife who could teach, and elementary-age children. They met all three criteria, so they answered the ad, had an interview, and accepted these positions in Ilo, Peru, South America. They worked for Southern Peru Copper Corporation, teaching in an American school there. Mike and Steve had both of their parents as teachers!

After ten years in Peru, it was time to come home, so they moved back to Urbandale, Iowa. Ron worked for the Des Moines Public School system at Scavo, Central Campus, and later at St. Joseph's School as an ESL teacher. He retired in 2006.

Ron was a member of St. Theresa's Catholic Church and was a Third Degree Knight in the Knights of Columbus. He was an active member of SPEBSQSA (now known as the Barbershop Harmony Society) all his life. He and Kay planned their vacations every year so they could attend the International Barbershop Competition over the Fourth of July. Ron also enjoyed riding his recumbent bicycle (and later his recumbent trike), going to car shows and stock car races, reading mysteries, and spending time with his grandchildren.

He is survived by his wife Kay, son Mike and wife Anne of Pleasant Hill, Iowa, son Steve of Overland Park, Kansas, grandsons Chase Bromert and Logan Bromert, both of Des Moines, granddaughters Lily Bromert and Eleanor Bromert of Overland Park, brother Tom and wife Linda of Glendale, Arizona, niece Sara Bromert Price and husband Rob of Arizona, and their two sons J.T. and Casey. He was preceded in death by his parents, Herb Bromert and Irma Bromert and a nephew Jason Bromert.

A public visitation will be held on March 4, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. at St. Theresa Catholic church (1230 Merle Hay Rd, Des Moines, IA 50311) with a funeral mass to follow at 11:00 a.m. Interment will be held at Glendale Cemetery (4909 University Ave, Des Moines, IA 50311) For those unable to attend, the mass of christian burial will be livestreamed on St. Theresa's facebook page https://www.facebook.com/StTheresaCatholicDesMoines

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Bishop Drumm Retirement Center (5837 Winwood Dr, Johnston, IA 50131) or St. Theresa Catholic Church (1230 Merle Hay Rd, Des Moines, IA 50311)