A Man For All Seasons

Editor’s note – Ron Wannemuehler, former coach and athletic director at Memorial High School in Evansville, died in early October at age 75. Jim Hummel and Patty Vann provided The Message this retrospective look at one of the area’s legendary teachers, coaches and administrators. Some material has previously been published in the Evansville Courier & Press.

Ron Wannemuehler certainly was a man for all seasons – whether it was seasons of the year or the various athletic seasons.  He was prompt and dedicated, so much so that a longtime neighbor of Memorial High School commented that they didn’t need an alarm clock.  Every morning when they heard Ron’s van pull up to the Athletic Office promptly at 6 a.m., it was time to get started with their day.  

He began his career at Memorial High School in 1961, immediately out of college.  Ron recalled that as he was interviewing for a teaching job at Memorial, he was astonished when offered the head boys’ basketball coaching job as well.  He guided Memorial to its first two sectional and regional championships in 1966 and 1970, and remained head basketball coach for 21 years. During his 42 years of service to Memorial High School, he taught Social Studies, Health, Physical Education, Government and Current Events – and coached freshman football, golf and cross country.

In 1978, Ron was named athletic director and held both positions as basketball coach and athletic director for four years.  He remained athletic director and teacher until he retired in 2003.  During his 25-year tenure as AD, Memorial athletics expanded from 11 sports with approximately 20 teams to 19 sports with approximately 40 teams.  Ron was very instrumental in the transition of soccer from a club sport to an IHSAA-sanctioned sport, and dealt with the transition to classes in almost every sport.

Ron held the position of secretary-treasurer for the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference from 1981 through 2006, an additional three years after his retirement.  In August 2012, Ron received the SIAC Lifetime Achievement Award.  In January 2013, he was inducted into the Memorial Athletic Hall of Fame.  He was a graduate of Mater Dei High School and also a member of its Athletic Hall of Fame.  In addition, he held the title of “Sagamore of the Wabash.”

Ron was also highly respected by his city athletic-director peers.  No one in the city or Memorial athletic community has been more respected.  It was deemed fitting that his retired public school athletic-director counterparts paid their final tribute to Ron by serving as pall bearers at his funeral. 

When asked to describe Ron, Rich Risemas, who served as boys basketball coach from 1983 to 1990, said, “He was what the word fair means.  He was fair to everybody.  He was a good basketball coach, a great athletic director, a good family man and a good friend.”  On spring break through the years, Wannemuehler joined Risemas on several golfing trips to Florida.  “He was my mentor,” Risemas said, noting that he and Wannemuehler would take long walks nearly everyday on their trips.  “He taught me about the game of life.  I’m going to miss him.  He was a heck of a family man.  He and Liz had a great partnership. Ron had a way of communicating with you.  If you wanted a job done right, you went to Ron,” Risemas said. 

Bruce Dockery, already the Tigers’ longtime girls’ basketball coach, was named to succeed Wannemuehler as athletic director.  Like Risemas, Dockery considered Wannemuehler his mentor.  “Following in his footsteps was tough because everyone respected him so highly,” he said. Dockery recalled that Wannemuehler was old-fashioned in the sense that he did not like computers.  “You would look at his desk and it was such a mess, but he would find whatever you needed.  He could find it on his desk before I could pull it up on a computer. He was amazing.  It was amazing that he could be so organized.”

Many of his former students also eulogized him as a wonderful teacher and coach, as well as a great man.

Ron was a true family man, as he and his wife of 55 years, Liz, raised three children – Karen, Randy and Sara, all Memorial graduates.  After his retirement, Ron enjoyed his grandchildren, supporting their athletic activities and often helping in other areas of their daily routine.

Ron was first recognized as a “Class Act” early in his career.  In 1963, after leading the entire game, Ron’s team lost a sectional tournament game to Evansville North, 61-60, on a last second shot. The highly acclaimed Dan Scism, Evansville Courier sports editor at the time, wrote in his column, “It was a great game to win and a heartbreaker to lose, but the Tigers accepted the final verdict with grace.  One would expect them to.  Their coach is a young man with class.”

Ron exuded “class” his entire life.  It is certain that the Almighty Headmaster has welcomed him home and guided him to the “Head of the Class” for a life well lived.