Richard James Fronek III (Rick), 51, passed away on Thursday, July 25th, 2024, at his home in Rockwall, TX with his wife Shelley by his side. He was born on June 16th, 1973, in Willoughby, Ohio to Richard J. Fronek Jr. and Virginia (Kunka) Fronek Long. The family moved to South Florida when he was 4 years old. Then, in 1982 the family moved to Neptune Beach, Florida. He graduated from Fletcher High School in 1991 cum laude, receiving a scholarship to the University of Miami, later transferring and graduating from the University of Florida with a degree in Marketing in 1998. He received his MBA from the University of North Florida in 2002. In 2010, Rick moved to Dallas, TX for a position at ASG as an Account Executive. Rick continued his career in Software Sales with his last position as an Application Platform Specialist at Red Hat.
Rick often said that his greatest joy and accomplishment in life was his son R.J. IV. He was a devoted and involved father coaching his son’s baseball team, The Royals. Rick loved spending as much time as possible having fun with his son. In his spare-time he loved to ride his jet skis, travelling the world, playing golf and spending time with his entire family. The Jacksonville Jaguars, Florida Gators and the Cleveland Indians were his favorite teams, and he would travel to different stadiums to cheer them on. Rick was a Big Brother to Kelvondric for his many years with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America organization.
Rick was an all-around great guy with a personality and laugh larger than life. He was out-going, yet thoughtful of others, kind and compassionate. He loved to have fun and make people laugh. He was always the life of the party. Rick had the gift of gab and could come into a room of complete strangers and walk out with handful of new best friends. He loved spending time with his family and would travel back to Neptune Beach frequently. Family was important to Rick and so were his Ohio roots and his aunts, uncles and cousins that live there. He was the best husband, father, son, brother, nephew, and cousin that anyone could possibly hope to call a family member. He meant the world to all of us, and he will be forever in our hearts and memories
Rick was married to Ashley Stewart from 2017 to 2023. Their son R.J. was born August 28, 2017. He married his beautiful bride, Shelley Fronek (Simon) this past May 31st. They were just beginning a new chapter in their lives together when he was unexpectedly and tragically taken from this world.
He is survived by his wife, Shelley Fronek, his son R.J. Fronek IV, step-daughters, Lauren and Zoe Colquitt, mother, Ginny Long, sister, Michelle Fronek Schneden, (Tim), and nieces Leah Cox and Presley Schneden, Three Aunts and Uncles, Veronica Scott (Dwayne),Victoria Kunka-James (Robert), and Joyce Robuck (Walter) eight cousins, William Tomlinson (Jill) Timothy Scott, Amanda Whittington (Mark, and their children Kaleb and Patrick, ) Miranda Boyd (Zack), Thomas James (Lex), Nichole Kakavas (James and their children Genevieve, Troy and Grace) and Lisa Walker (Max).
A fund has been set up in R.J.’s name for his future needs, please contact his sister Michelle for more information.
A Funeral Mass will be held Wednesday, August 7, 2024, 10 am at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Jacksonville Beach, immediately followed by a graveside service at Ponte Vedra Valley.
