Ron Parise, Warren native and shuttle astronaut, dies

WARREN — Two-time space shuttle astronaut Ronald A. Parise, 56, a Warren native and noted graduate of the city schools and Youngstown State University, has died.

His spaceflight experience was on Shuttle Columbia (Dec. 2-10, 1990) and Shuttle Endeavor (March 2–18, 1995). He had a life-long love for astronomy and amateur radio.

His death was confirmed Saturday by Richard Pirko, the show producer at the Youngstown State University planeterium. The former astronaut had been in poor health and died in Silver Springs, Md., where he made his home, of complications of a brain tumor.

Frank H. Bauer, chairman of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station International program, also noted Parise’s death after a long battle with cancer.

“Ron Parise was — and continues to be — an inspiration to countless students, ham radio operators, and friends the world over,” Bauer said. “While he certainly did some truly extraordinary things in his lifetime, Ron Parise is best known and cherished for keeping family and friends first … and for this, we will miss him most.”

Pirko said Parise had been a member of the astronomy club at YSU all through his teen and college years, and had returned to visit from time to time, when he’d visit his parents in Warren.

An amateur interest in astronomy eventually led to much bigger things.

Read more in Sunday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com